Immortal Friendship Precure
by cure-floras
Summary: Jun Izanama is a 14-year-old girl who loves to cook. Starting her second year at a prestigious academy, she thinks it's going to be smooth sailing, until she encounters a fairy from another world. Now, she's a "legendary warrior", and she has to find teammates to stop the evil Dark Land Kingdom before it's too late for both the fairy's world and her own. [Precure Fanseries]
1. Im A Legendary Warrior ? ! What ? !

Jun Izanama woke up as she did every morning: happy, and ready for a fresh, new day. To others who met her, perhaps she might've been a bit naive, expecting every day to be a good one. It was her own personal way of life, though. "It may be a bad day in the end," she had told her best friend, "but you wouldn't know it when you woke up, so just go at every day with a smile!" She had been like this for most of her life, her mother told others. She was always the one looking forward to tomorrow, no matter what came her way. It was a trait to be proud of, her mother told her.

Today was her first day of her 2nd year at Otonashi's prestigious Saint Golden Faith Academy. She was excited, and ready to get back to her position as the president of the Cooking Club. They had done summer activites, of course, but the school year was more busy and full of fun things to do with the club. Saint Golden Faith Academy was a private school that served both Junior High and High School. They separated them into two buildings, connected by a single long, large glass hallway that the students of all grades loved to hang out in. Saint Golden, as the students called it, only took in the best of the best. Jun had only gotten in on a scholarship for her cooking abilities, and she had struggled to keep her place at the distinguished school, but she wasn't going to lose because of a bad grade or two. She had earned her way in, and she was determined to stay there, no matter how hard she had to work.

"Mama, I'm going now. Thank you for breakfast!" she said excitedly, slipping on her shoes. Jun's mom clamored out a 'wait!' before passing her a lunchbox. Jun took it with a smile as her mom gave her a kiss on the forehead. Jun grinned happily, and waved at the other three parents sitting behind her mom at their coffee table. They waved back, each with small smiles. Jun lived in a communal home, with two other families other than her own. Jun's mom was a single mother, and barely made enough to support them. If it wasn't for her scholarship, Jun would be in a public school, like she had for her elementary years. Her best friend Ume, who lived with her dad in Jun's house as well, had gotten in on an academic scholarship. She was a math whiz.

"Cooking club president… Oh boy, I can't wait!" she practically could've jumped for joy. She tightened her grip on her school bag and began her walk to the school. It was a nice, familiar stretch of roads with shady trees lining the way. She was on time enough to walk, if not a little early, so that she could make a good impression on her first day back. Not ten minutes into her walk, however, she spotted a bird flying very low and very fast. It zoomed by her in a blur of brown and tan and pink, and after that came another blur of black and deep, intimidating red. She froze, thinking that perhaps it was a dangerous wild animal.

"Aaaaah! Stay away-jubi!" She heard a tiny voice cry out as the blurs shot past again. Jun yelped as she felt a large hand on her shoulder. She turned, seeing a tall man with long, black hair tied up in a loose ponytail that hung over his shoulder. His bangs covered one of his eyes, the visible one a burning red. He wore a suit with a red tie the same color as his eye. His grin was large and shark toothed, and Jun became fearful.

"Yo, little girlie… You seen a brown owl? He's uh… My pet." The man's voice was sinister, and Jun knew that whatever his intentions were, they weren't good. She shook her head, stepping away from the tall man.

"N-No sir! No owls here! I did see a brown bird fly that way, though, maybe that's what you're looking for…?" she pointed in the opposite direction she'd seen the bird fly. She wasn't just going to let some creep hurt an innocent bird.

"Oh…? This way? Hehe… Thanks girlie… Since you were a good little kid, I'll let you live this time…" He snickered before disappearing. Jun sighed in relief. That creepy man was gone… thank god.

"... Live?" She realized with growing horror, happening to glance at the large clock in the middle of the square where she had been standing. It was way later than she needed to be. "Aahh! I don't have time for this, I'll be late!"

* * *

Jun got to class just in the nick of time. Normally, she was a very dutiful student, so it was her first experience cutting it that close. Ume, her best friend, looked at her worriedly, after having heard of the morning's events. Living together and having grown up together, they were very close and Ume especially worried about a lot of things.

Ume Yoshiko was an extremely tall girl with red, thick rectangular glasses framing her blue eyes. Her hair was black and wavy, just touching her thighs, with two small braids in front. She was quite the contrast to Jun, who was short, and very chubby. Jun's hair was short and brown, with two buns at the top. Her eyes were a soft mint green. They both wore the same blue and white uniform, but Ume's socks were thigh high and dark gray while Jun wore white leg warmers.

"Are you sure you're alright? This… man, he didn't hurt you or anything, did he?" Ume questioned, looking over her and babying her. Jun patted her hand, shaking her head.

"I'm fine, I promise! Not a scratch on me!" she grinned, trying to reassure her friend. It seemed only to partially work. Ume sighed reluctantly, clearly still nervous about Jun. As she opened her mouth to say something, however, the teacher stepped inside the room.

"Alright! Class, please take your seats!" she said with a smile. The class did as they were told, waiting for her to continue. "We had a transfer student come to our school this year, and she's been placed in our homeroom! How exciting! Miss Susume, if you would?"

A girl entered the room. She was only a tiny bit taller than Jun, and she walked with small, shy movements. Her hair was a smooth red, reaching her chin and flipping outwards. She had brown eyes and circular, wire glasses with a lot of freckles. Jun's eyes sparkled at the thought of a new friend, and a possible new club member. Because of Saint Golden's pickiness, it was rare that people got in and so it caused their clubs to be fairly tiny.

"H-Hello…" she started slowly after writing her name on the board. "My name is Emika Susume… I came here from a small seaside city named Yuunagi. My hobbies are collecting small trinkets, especially charms, and I like… making pastries…"

"Nice to meet you, Emika!" the class welcomed her openly and warmly. She seemed both relieved and happy about this fact, giving a tiny smile. Jun, despite the freaky event that had taken place earlier, she was already back to her excitable and happy self due to Emika's arrival.

"You can sit in the front right here, next to Jun. Ah, actually Miss Izanama, would you mind showing Emika around after school? I'm sure she'd appreciate the company." the teacher insisted. Jun nodded happily, always ready to help.

"Of course, Mrs. Hinamori! Jun Izanama is now on the case!" she grinned, saluting. "Nice to meetcha, Emika. I hope we can be friends, and since you like making pastries, you're welcome to join the Culinary Club. I'm the president!"

"Well, Jun, why don't we save that for later, since we've got formalities out of the way. We do have lessons after all. And without further ado, let our class officially begin!" the teacher seemed ready to begin.

It was about 30 minutes into the lesson when Jun broke her pencil. As she reached into her bag to grab her pencil sharpener, she felt something warm and soft brush up against her fingertips. Her eyes widened and she stared at it.

"Ahh, that tickles-jubi!" something from inside her bag giggled. Jun froze and practically turned red from embarrassment. The entire class was looking at her, and even the teacher looked a bit surprised at her.

"Miss Izanama? Is there… something the matter?" she asked with a concerned tone. Snapping up her bookbag, Jun smiled sheepishly. She was trying to cover up… whatever the heck had made that noise. She almost didn't want to wait to look.

"Y-Y-Yes, Mrs. Hinamori!" she assured in a nervous tone. The teacher looked at her for a few seconds before shaking her head and continuing. Jun desperately wanted to figure out what the thing in her bag was, but for now, it would simply have to wait.

* * *

Lunchtime rolled around, and Jun was still intently focused on her bag. She took it straight to her secret eating place: a small gazebo, outside of the glass hallway that connected the two campuses. The gazebo itself was covered entirely in vines and overgrowth, the only opening into it having been cut by Jun herself. On top of being covered in foliage, it was also hidden behind a row of bushes and stray trees. The only reason she had found it in the first place was because she had gotten lost on her way to the school on first day last year. It was a complete accident, as she was never really any good with finding her way places, and she loved 'taking shortcuts'... which never really worked out well.

She tentatively opened her bag, preparing for the worst. She shrieked, more out of surprise than fear, as a bird came flying out. It perched itself on the table in the middle of the gazebo, ruffling its feathers. It was brown, with a tan belly, chest, and claws. In the middle of its chest was a large, sparkling, heart-shaped gem swirling with a rainbow of colors. It stood on fluffy, clawed legs and used its wings as if they were arms. Eyes drifting to the strange bird's face, Jun saw that it was actually an owl. It had a thin, curved, pointy beak. It also had rings around its eyes, and small tufts of feathers on its head that looked almost like ears, and a collar around his neck made of white lace.

"Ahh, thank goodness! It was so stuffy in there-jubi!" it spoke, seemingly relieved that it was outside of Jun's schoolbag after hours and hours in there all day. Well, to be fair, Jun would be relieved too. But right now, she was more frozen in shock at the talking bird standing in front of her. It looked at her for a second before she spoke.

"You're… Talking. You're a talking bird. Were you… um… trained? Like a parrot? Or am I hallucinating? How is this possible?" She muttered, looking away for a moment. She felt as if she was going crazy. A talking owl with a jewel on its chest? She must have ate something bad that morning. She'd have to tell her mom to check the expiration dates on her food more often…

"Oh! You're the girl that pointed me away from Dusk-jubi! I really thank you for helping me. I'm sorry, but I had to hide in your bag to hide from him-jubi. I'm sure you understand that he's bad, after all, you did point him away-jubi." he said with a smile. Jun looked at the owl again. She shook her head quickly, and slammed her hands against her cheeks. Nope, definitely not hallucinating… She was so confused she thought her head might spin.

"You're… Welcome, I guess, but… You're a talking owl…" she replied gravely. She had simply assumed Dusk was the name of the creepy man she had encountered that morning. The owl turned his head to the side, then back to normal, thinking for a second.

"Huh? An owl? No, I'm a fairy-jubi." he stated this so nonchalantly it almost convinced Jun right there. "My name is Jubilee-jubi. I'm a royal advisor to the Queen of the Everlast Kingdom-jubi…" he trailed off, blushing sheepishly as his stomach growled. Jun sighed.

"This is… weird… But I can't ignore somebody who's hungry, even if he is a… fairy. I'll believe you for now. We can share my lunch if you want, Jubilee…" she offered, pulling it from her bag. She gave a tentative smile, hoping he would accept and that she could become… less confused by the end of this meeting.

"R-Really, you mean it-jubi?! Oh, thank you! I was so lucky to meet such a wonderful human-jubi!" he exclaimed. He dug in as soon as Jun divided it, and he seemed happy about it. Jun supposed it was okay. After all, owl/fairy or not, anybody smiling that genuinely couldn't be that bad. Whatever situation she had gotten herself into now, she had already decided to face it with a smile like she did with all of her problems.

"So… You said you were an advisor to a Queen? That's really cool. You must be pretty important… Is she a fairy too?" she asked as they ate, trying to make small talk. Jubilee dabbed at the corners of his mouth carefully with the piece of napkin she'd given him. When he was done he looked up at her with a puffed up chest.

"Y-Yes, well, I suppose I am rather important-jubi…" he giggled for a second. "Really, though, everybody in our kingdom is just as important as the next-jubi. Status isn't a problem, it's simply that the Queen seems to value my insight-jubi. And yes, to answer your second question, she is a fairy, but she prefers looking like a human-jubi. Every fairy can switch between this sort of appearance and a human one, it's simply a matter of what they like-jubi." he explained slowly. It was a lot to take in at once. After a moment of consideration, Jun nodded.

"I see. That's interesting. And what about this 'Everlast Kingdom', what's it like?" she asked again. She had become immensely interested in the owl fairy's story. With each detail coming out so naturally, she felt as if she had known him forever and that she could believe in every word he said.

"It's my homeland-jubi! It's a grand, floating city in a dimension parallel to this one-jubi. It's all complicated science-y stuff that I don't understand too well, so to put it simply, it's on a world you can only get to through fairy activated portals-jubi. Queen Mirai is our leader, but recently she… jubi…" he trailed off. He looked away morosely, beginning to tear up. Jun's eyebrows furrowed in worry, and as she reached for him, he hiccuped and the tears began to fall. She picked him up, holding him close and rocking him gently. She did this until his hiccuping sobs calmed down into quiet sniffles. The bell rang, however, just as she had begun to calm him down. She set him on the table again, and he wiped his eyes. She looked at him with soft eyes and pet his head once.

"We can talk more later, okay, Jubilee? Oh, by the way, I'm Jun. Jun Izanama. For now, though, I have to go back to class. If you want, you're certainly welcome to stay with me, but you have to keep quiet in my bag until school lets out and I'm done with my duties, okay?" she offered. Jubilee nodded agreeingly.

"That's fine by me-jubi. I'm really happy to have met you, Jun-jubi."

* * *

After school, Jun had picked up the paperwork for her club and taken Emika around the school like she had promised. Her newfound redhead friend had even agreed to join the club, happy that somebody had taken an interest in her. She'd had a busy first day on top of meeting Jubilee at lunch, so she was happy to be walking home at last. Speaking of Jubilee… It was finally okay to let him out of his 'cloth prison'.

"Here we go, Jubilee!" she pulled the little owl gently out of the bag and perched him on her shoulder. He ruffled his feathers, and settled back down with a smile. Jun looked at him seriously for a moment. "So… Do you wanna talk about what happened?"

"Ah... " Jubilee's smile fell, but he didn't begin to cry like last time. "Well… The kingdom was attacked and almost completely destroyed-jubi. Our rival, the Dark Land Kingdom, wants to consume our world, along with yours-jubi. Our Queen managed to stop their leader, but it cost us her in the end-jubi. She scattered the pieces of her soul, Everlast Seeds, all the way to earth-jubi. Those seeds can regrow our kingdom, and when it becomes restored, so will she-jubi."

"Whoa… How many are there? Wouldn't it take a long time to find them all if they're all over the world?" Jun asked, looking slightly concerned. Jubilee's face was serious, and he shook his head a little, and crossed his wings.

"There's 10 Everlast Seeds-jubi. But it shouldn't take long at all, because the Queen sent me here to find the legendary warriors-jubi! They're the guardians of the Everlast Kingdom and earth, spoken of in our prophecies-jubi. I have to find them before before the Dark Land generals can gather enough Negative Energy to revive _their_ leader-jubi." he explained. Jun shook her head.

"It's terrible that this Dark Land Kingdom would destroy another… Well, I'm sure you can find these warriors and the Everlast Seeds, Jubilee. Who are these warriors, anyways? Maybe I can help you find them." she suggested. Jubilee smiled again.

"Oh, I'd really appreciate it-jubi! They're called Precure… usually, they're girls, but anybody can become one if they're qualified-jubi. If I can find a worthy candidate, I can give them the power to become Precure-jubi. They've gotta be good… care for others... and want to fight for the justice of our Kingdom, of course-jubi." he said. He seemed to think for a moment before gasping. "You, Jun! You can become a Precure-jubi! You're so happy, and you were so nice to me… you care about your friends from what I heard, and you're willing to help, right-jubi?!"

"H-Huh?! Me? But… I'm no 'warrior', Jubilee. I'm just an average girl who loves good food. I do hope you get your Kingdom back, of course, I really do, but…" she trailed off, looking a bit shameful. Jubilee sighed.

"For what it's worth, I think you're a perfect choice, but of course, I can't make you do anything-jubi. It's all optional, after all-jubi."

"You couldn't do anything anyways… you stupid fairy." a deep voice growled. Jun jolted, turning around quickly to see the man she had encountered earlier that day. His eyes were wild and his grin was feral. He reached forward, yanking Jubilee off of her shoulder. The small fairy wriggled around desperately in Dusk's grasp.

"Y-You! Let Jubilee go, you bully!" Jun leapt for the owl fairy, but he held it over her head. He was so tall, her head didn't even come up to his neck. Dusk laughed so heartily it was almost disturbing. His shark-toothed grin seemed to get even wider, if it was even possible, and his grip on the fairy on grew tighter.

"You want him? … Come and get him, little girlie." He roared with laughter again as large, pointed, spiked wings grew from his back. The spines were black, and the skin of the wings were a deep, dark red. His visible red eye glowed, and curled red horns grew from the sides of his head as his fingernails grew into black claws. The coattails of his suit grew tattered, and his glowing eye seemed to burn as the sclera of his eye also turned red, while the pupil and iris were white. Dark red tattoos wrapped their way down his arms and he flexed. " **HAHAHAHAHA! GOOD LUCK**!"

As he said this, Jubilee began to tear up and cry once more. He still struggled against Dusk's vicegrip, though fruitlessly. Jun's fists balled as she witnessed this. However unbelievable, Jubilee was her friend now. As Dusk was preoccupied with laughing at their misfortune, Jun swung upward with all of her might and sucker punched him in the bottom of his jaw. The punch landed with a sickening crack, and it wasn't from her hand. He recoiled in shock.

"How dare you… How dare you make my friend cry! All he wants is to get his home back… And you make him cry! He deserves a hopeful outlook… Something to look forward to… Not your bullying, you freak!" she yelled at him, her own voice cracking. Jubilee looked at her with surprise, eyes still damp. Dusk rubbed his jaw with a groan and leaned down to Jun's height.

" **Hopeful outlook? What a load of crap. This fairy's a prisoner of the Dark Land Kingdom, and there's nothing you can do about, stupid girl.** " He pushed her hard, and she fell over onto her butt, tears now in her eyes. Dusk was scowling as he stood back up and turned away. Jun reached quickly and grabbed his pant leg so tight it could've choked a person. He jerked his leg, but she still wouldn't let go.

"No… NO!" Jun shouted. The jewel on Jubilee's chest began to glow brightly. "Jubilee! I'll do it! I'll become a Precure!" she announced. Jubilee smiled widely, even through his tears. Dusk turned around, finally getting his leg out from her grasp.

"R-Right-jubi! Take this, and you can beat him-jubi!" a thin beam of light shot out from his jewel and a necklace formed around Jun's neck as she stood up, a heart-shaped gem appeared at the end of it. It was pink, and was smooth and cool. "It's the Everheart Stone, it will allow you to transform-jubi! Now, just call out what comes to your heart, even if it doesn't make sense-jubi!"

"Pink Everheart Stone! Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" the words seemed to come naturally, somehow, even though she hadn't thought them beforehand nor had she heard them anywhere. She didn't understand it too much, but as she was enveloped into a beam of warm pink light she supposed it didn't really matter, in the end.

Her clothes glowed, and a large pink bow blossomed onto her chest. The Everheart Stone nestled in the center, the necklace dissolving. A white vest with pink trim came next, and pink, puffy sleeves accompanied it. A pink skirt with fluffy white lace underneath twirled onto her, She clapped twice in front of her, and pink ribbons swirled around her wrists and forearms. A gold ring popped onto both of her middle fingers, and gloves formed, pink and connected to the rings in a triangle shape. The same ribbons wrapped around her legs, too, forming white high-heeled boots, pointed up to the knees with pink trim and small jewels at the point.

Finally, her hair. Her small buns unfurled, and all of her hair grew longer to make two twin ponytails. They changed color from chestnut to a soft, bubblegum pink. The small pieces of hair that stuck up around her ponytails grew too, wavy and almost resembling hearts. Her bangs swept and curved to her left to a point. A sparkle ran through her eyes, still the same mint green they had been. She had completely transformed.

" **What the hell?** " Dusk growled. Jubilee cheered even from his hand.

"Now, name yourself! What kind of warrior do you want to be-jubi?!" he asked loudly, excited to see her as a Precure. He was confident that she would win.

"I'm… I'm…!" Jun seemed to realize what she wanted to be. "The light of a new tomorrow! CURE HOPE!" she pointed at Dusk, as if accusing him.

"Cure Hope!" Jubilee cried happily. Hope, with every ounce of her newfound power she could muster, punched the temporarily surprised Dusk straight in the gut. The force alone made him let go of Jubilee, and he flew back into a wall nearby. Dusk stumbled when getting up, clenching a clawed hand around his stomach where she had hit him, while Jubilee perched onto Hope's shoulder again.

" **Oh, you've done it now, stupid girlie.** " He pulled a vial filled with thick black goop from his pocket. " **SHAORI! COME FORTH!** "

"Oh no… That's the Dark Solution-jubi! It's liquefied Negative Energy-jubi!" He hugged Hope tightly. She pat his head and set him on the ground, preparing to defend him from whatever attack he was preparing. Dusk smashed the vial on the ground. From the goop rose a large, black, humanoid sludge-like creature with thick red glasses. It was huge, bigger than the buildings around them, and it stood on two oozy legs.

"Those look like… No way! Those look like Ume's glasses! What did you do to her?!" Hope shouted, now taking an offensive stance. Dusk made a 'tch' noise.

" **I have no idea what the hell you're talking about. These Shaori simply personify the strongest negative feelings that are close to them. I don't know who 'Ume' is, stupid girlie.** " his eyes narrowed, " **NOW ATTACK!** "

The monster - Shaori - swung a drippy fist at Hope. More out of adrenaline and reflexes than anything, she jumped to avoid the attack. It landed on an empty building nearby, bringing a wall crashing down. She jumped so high that she could hardly believe it. She had to be higher than a skyscraper! Jubilee flew up after her.

"J-Jubilee! What's going on?! Is this…!" she shrieked as she fell back down.

"Precure's power-jubi!" he replied excitedly as they landed, miraculously on top of the monster, preventing further damage to anything. She bounced off, landing on her feet. The monster seemed almost to cry as it shot globs of its black ooze at her.

" **Worried-rii! Worried-rii! What if Jun got hurt this morning-rii?!** " it sobbed. Hope froze, almost being hit by a glob. Her eyes were wide, and she was in shock.

"Ume has negative feelings… because of me?" she murmured. Jubilee grabbed her hand and tugged her out of the way from another attack.

"No! You can't help how a person feels if you've already tried your best to assuage them-jubi! It's not your fault! All you can do now is defeat the Shaori, it'll purify her feelings-jubi!" he assured her. Hope took a deep breath, relaxing a bit.

"You're right. I'm sorry for reacting so poorly in a situation like this." As she said this so calmly, the Shaori swung another fist and Hope caught it in her own hand. She swung it over her head, slamming it into the ground. Jubilee huffed with a smile.

"Now's your chance-jubi! Summon your Everheart weapon and use it to purify the Shaori-jubi!" he explained. Hope's face was serious as words came out on their own, as she had when she transformed. It felt as if she had done this before.

"Everheart! Become my weapon!" she ordered. The pink stone glowed fiercely, and a pink staff appeared in her outstretched hand. A rainbow-colored gem sat on top of it. A pink ribbon-y bow just like the one on her vest was situated underneath it. It had three smaller bows underneath it, from biggest to smallest. She spun it around her head like a baton before slamming it into the ground, making it a pole about as tall as she was.

"Sparkle and shine, light of the future!" the gem on the staff began to glow and it bounced light off of it, creating a beautiful effect of multi colored lights fractaling all around them. Just as the monster began to get up, she called out again. "HOPE RADIANCE!"

A beam of pink light shot out, slamming into the monster. It wrapped all around, the light appearing almost like ribbons fluttering around it. It tightened and tightened, turning the sludge pink until it dissolved, forming the vial around it again. Dusk swooped in, grabbing the vial. As soon as he touched it, it was back to being black.

" **This won't be the last time you'll see me, girlie. I'll be back, and then I'll kick your butt, you hear me?! I'LL BEAT YOU!** " he seemed to vanish just as quickly as he had appeared. Hope fell to her knees, de-transforming into Jun again. Today was a crazy first day back, that was the one thing she was certain of.

* * *

"So… You've failed me, have you?" a growling voice came from a statue partially hidden in the shadows. Now returned to the bleak castle they used as a base, Dusk looked away nervously, saying nothing. He couldn't say anything in the face of his leader. "Well? … What do you have to say for yourself…?"

"P-Prince Shadow… I… There was a girl! She, they, you know! The fairies' prophecy… It wasn't a bluff… There's a warrior!" he tried to explain why he hadn't returned with Jubilee.

"Please… You had the thing in your hand, and still, you failed… Pathetic…" the voice insulted him. Dusk's face grew angry, but he dared not talk back to the Prince. A pair of deep red eyes glinted in the dark, and a female voice could be heard, but she didn't show herself.

"Prince Shadow… Allow me to go in Dusk's place. I will not fail you, sir."

* * *

A/N: As a series a little under 3 years in the making, I'm excited for it to finally be out! I hope everyone enjoys it.

NEXT EPISODE: _I Won't Be Scared! A New Partner Arrives!_


	2. I Won't Be Scared! A New Partner Arrives

Jun woke up as she did every day… Except it wasn't her normal routine, not any more. She had met Jubilee two days prior, and that man, Dusk, had attacked them after school. She had… transformed, into a "legendary warrior". She was now not only Jun Izanama, but Cure Hope as well. It wasn't just 'every day' any longer. She contemplated how much change had occurred in only that one day. Jubilee, her owl-fairy friend, was still snoozing by the time she had gotten dressed. She picked him up gently, setting him on her shoulder. He snuggled under her collar, using it as a sort of blanket. She giggled at this, thinking also about how she had managed to convince her family (luckily) that he was a plush doll, and they had let her keep him.

She grabbed her bag and stepped out of her room, entering the living room where the two other families sat around the large table, watching their small TV. Her mom sat closest to her door, while Ume and her dad sat next to her. Across the table were the Akihito parents, smiling at Jun as they saw her come out. Her mom turned, smiling as she patted the seat next to her, inviting her to sit down with them.

"Jun, good morning! Breakfast is already on the the table. Azami already left for practice this morning, she has a game next week! So soon into the school year, can you believe it?" Mr. Akihito laughed. Azami Akihito was the captain of the girl's basketball team, and had also gotten into Saint Golden on a sports scholarship. Jun nodded with a smile, sitting at the table and making herself a plate of food. She began to eat, turning her attention towards the television.

"It's a crazy story. Apparently, some superhero appeared near the square on Monday," Ume commented. Jun almost choked on her food. She sputtered, looking closer at the news story on the screen. It couldn't be…

"On Monday, a strange beam of pink light could be seen from Otonashi Town Square. A passersby caught the following footage on a cellphone camera." the reporter informed curtly. A video appeared on-screen of Cure Hope, punching Dusk in the face. Promptly following that was Dusk, slamming the Dark Solution on the ground and a Shaori appearing. She remembered that all too well, and as the Shaori swung a fist, the video clicked off. "As you can see, there was some sort of demonic creature attacking the town, and this girl - the one in pink - was defending us. Whoever this mysterious hero is, thank you."

"She's pretty cool, huh, Jun? A real life superhero." Her mom said, looking over at her. Jun was nervous and nodded quickly.

"Y-Y-Yep! Really cool! I can't believe that this is happening! Well, I'm off to school! Bye!" she abruptly stood, having lost her appetite. She secured her bag and began marching out of the room. Jun's mom called after her, a little concerned.

"But Jun, you barely touched your breakfast! And you're very early anyways, you know. You have time, sweetie…" she trailed off as Jun simply continued putting on her shoes. "Well, if you insist. At least take your lunch, sweetie." she sighed.

"Oh, mama, thank you. I'm sorry for being rude. It's just stressful at that school, and now I'm Club President and all that… I'll get better once I'm in the swing of things!" Jun assured. Her mom gave a soft smile, nodding and putting her hands on Jun's shoulders.

"I'm glad you told me. Have a wonderful day; I love you." she kissed Jun's forehead. Jun giggled and nodded back. She was happy that her mom was leaving it alone, but extremely unhappy that she had to keep secrets. It was for their own good, Jubilee had said. If they knew, she'd be putting them in danger! Jubilee had also asked her why she did it. Why she had changed her mind about becoming Precure. In the end, she had told him two things: "I changed my mind because I hate bullies… And you're my friend now. I always watch out for my friends, you know."

"Jubilee, we're on our way to school. You should get into my bag, soon, so people don't see you." she suggested softly when she was halfway down her street, picking up with small owl fairy and cradling him in her hands. He groaned, rolling around in her hands and gripping her shirt.

"Five more minutes… I'm so sleepy…" he grumbled. Jun shook her head with a laugh, putting him back on her shoulder. She supposed it was alright considering how early she was, and there weren't that many people on her way to school anyways. Jubilee snuggled back under her collar and went back to snoozing away, and Jun went back to considering her recent changes. She was lucky Dusk hadn't shown up again recently; most of her battle at first was pure adrenaline, reflexes, and instinct. Now that she knew what to expect - and so did Dusk - it would probably be a little different. In fact, she might even be beaten.

"O-Oh… Izanama, is that you…?" a quiet voice came as she approached the corner. Jun turned her head to see a certain redhead walking down the intersecting path. Jun smiled, nonchalantly turning so that her left shoulder was slightly out of view from Emika (who luckily was on her right). Jun waved at the girl.

"Hello, Susume! You can just call me Jun, you know! Everybody else does. If it's alright, then I'll call you Emika." she smiled wider. Emika wrung her hands a little, nodding as her face tinged. She still seemed happy, despite this, as her mouth had turned upwards in the corners.

"Sure… If you'd like. It'd be.. nice…" she murmured, still not meeting Jun's gaze. Jun linked arms with the girl excitedly when she got close enough, pushing Jubilee to the back of her mind. "J-J-J-Jun… You…"

"Oh! Do you not want me to? I'm sorry, Emika! I should've asked first." Jun replied to the flustered Emika, beginning to remove her arm. As she did, Emika moved back.

"It-It's okay! I'm sorry… You just surprised me is all… Normally people aren't so friendly to me right away…" she explained. Jun puffed up her cheeks and began to walk, though it was more of a march than anything.

"Well then! I'll make sure _everyone_ is friendly to you today! If they aren't, then I'll be sure to give them a good scolding. Well, you may not even talk to anybody today, but that's okay too! Sometimes talking to people just isn't what you're in the mood for." Jun rambled, shrugging. Emika's eyes widened, looking at her in awe for a good few moments as they walked.

"You… You think it's okay to not… not want to talk to people?" she asked slowly, carefully. Jun nodded with a thoughtful look.

"Definitely! Sometimes you're just not up for it. I remember on my first day here last year, that I was so scared that I didn't want to talk to a single person. Not even my friend! But she told me to take my time so I could say hi to somebody. That's how I joined the Culinary Club! I worked up my confidence enough to talk to the previous president." Jun explained, walking along side by side with Emika, no longer a march.

"You… You're right, I think. It's the first time somebody's said it like that. Most of the time, people ask me why I'm so quiet… But I just, you know, don't like talking that much…" Emika paused for a moment before continuing. "... You're nice, though. I don't mind talking to you so much… And… I'll try to work up my courage, like you said. Maybe I can talk to the Pink Hero one day…" Emika's face was red and smiley. She seemed excited by whatever prospect it was she was considering. Jun thought for a moment… Pink Hero?!

"P-Pink Hero?! You mean the one that was on the news this morning…?" Jun was cringing internally. Emika nodded, and that confirmed Jun's fear. Everybody knew about Precure! Well, they knew that some "super hero" existed, anyways. That alone was bad enough!

"She… she's my idol… Standing up to monsters like that… I'd love to meet her, maybe she can teach me how to stand up to stuff like that…" she laughed just a little. Jun turned to stand in front of her, face to face, clasping her hands.

"It's easy! All you have to do… Is want to! If you want to… Then you can! The details are a bit fuzzy for me, but that's my solution, usually!" Jun replied excitedly, then paused, embarrassed. "I mean… Maybe you will hear it from the Pink Hero, but, um, that's just how I see it, anyways…"

"I appreciate your opinion too, J-Jun. Sorry, um, it's still a little weird calling somebody by their first name, so I'm sorry if it takes me a while to get used to it…" Emika trailed off, looking at Jun's shoulder. She saw the little owl, and her eyebrows rose. "An… Owl plushie? I didn't think you'd be the type to like owls, Jun…" she giggled.

"Owl?!" she quickly grabbed Jubilee and hid him behind her back. "Oh my gosh! I can't believe I left that there! I meant to put it up, I swear. But uh, yes! I love owls! Boy, they're my favorite alright!" she blurted hastily, shoving Jubilee into the bag quickly with a muffled, sleepy/indignant 'Hey!' from the latter party. Jun would have to apologize later.

"Oh, it's alright. Plush toys are cute… I love them too, so it's okay. No need to feel ashamed about it…" Emika smiled softly. Jun relaxed with her smile, feeling it soothe her more the longer she looked at it. Emika had a wonderful smile.

"Uh, thanks. Well, we'd better get to school… Do you wanna walk with me? You don't have to, but it would be awesome if you did." Jun offered with an extended hand. Emika looked at it for a second. She reached for it tentatively, pausing for a second before taking it happily.

* * *

"Huh? You haven't left yet?! That stupid Hope girl could be getting stronger for all you know. You're just gonna laze around and put makeup on all day?!" Dusk yelled, clearly angry, as even his face was beginning to turn red. A pair of red-orange eyes rolled at his reaction, practically ignoring his fury.

"See, this is why you got beat, Dusk. _I'm_ waiting for the right moment. It's soon, and I _have_ to look perfect. I mean, I'm already gorgeous, but if I want to become Prince Shadow's right hand then I must look the part." the lady scoffed. She was significantly shorter than her angry male counterpart, with deep brown pigtails tied low behind her head. She wore a red undershirt with black suit top, and a black pencil skirt with red flats.

"Look the part?! Who cares about looking good, Prince Shadow just wants results! You aren't that pretty anyways!" Dusk stormed off, unhappy at his coworker's nonchalant attitude towards the girl that had beaten him. She clenched her makeup brush tightly. She tried not to lash out, knowing she would only get in trouble for hurting him. She hated when the others called her not beautiful. It was what she prided herself on, after all. She stood abruptly, not caring for finishing her makeup any more.

"Fine. You want results, Dusk? I'll give you results. I'll show you just how beautiful I am... I am the most attractive Dark Land General and you know it!" She grumbled, stomping out of the vanity room. She was very prideful, she was, and she was going to teach Dusk a lesson.

* * *

"Miss Izanama, would you mind collecting the homework from the students, please? While you are doing that, there is a guest who has come from the other campus to speak to you about clubs. Miss Konoko, you can come in now!" Mrs. Hinamori called out to a girl standing outside the door, who entered with a smile. She was very tall, with short, straight blonde hair. Her bangs were also straight and sat just at her eyebrow line, complimenting her golden-brown eyes. She seemed mature in the way she walked and handled herself, but also very gentle.

"Yes ma'am," Jun nodded, watching the tall girl from the corner of her eye as she stood. She began collecting last night's homework, starting from her own. When she reached Emika's she noted that the redhead's handwriting was very neat, even cute in a way. In the corner was a doodle of Cure Hope (aka the 'Pink Hero' to Emika), and Jun flushed red just a little. It was kind of nice to have a fan, but also a little embarrassing given the circumstances.

"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Hinamori. My name is Yuki Konoko. I'm a third-year this year, and I'm on the student council. I'm here to talk to you a little about clubs. You are not required to join one, but they are a lot of fun, after all, so I would definitely recommend it. In this class, we have the president of the Culinary Club, actually. If she'd like, she can talk a little about it when I'm finished." Yuki smiled and gave a short nod to Jun, who smiled back.

"I am in charge of club management, and if you have an application to submit, you may turn it in to your respective club president once you are approved by them. We'd be happy to have you, of course, and everyone is welcome. If you think that a club is being biased or unfair, or in any way rude, bullying, or hazing, please inform us, and we will take care of it. We absolutely do not tolerate or accept this kind of behavior here at Saint Golden Faith, after all. Now, if Miss Izanama would like to talk?"

"O-Oh! Sure, I'd love to!" Jun sped up to the front of the room, having finished collecting the papers her teacher had asked her to. She placed them on Miss Hinamori's desk, and stood up next to Yuki. She'd never really done public speaking before, but she supposed she'd have to now that she was Club President.

"Well… I'm Jun Izanama. I love to make all kinds of food, and so I joined the Culinary Club last year. The previous president loved my enthusiasm so much, and he thought that I was worthy, so he made me the next Club President. We make all kinds of dishes, and we do fun things like participate in cook-offs or cater events at the school as fun activities. This year, the club is going to cater the Golden Faith Prestige Ball!" she announced excitedly. The kids all gasped and murmured amongst one another, as the Golden Faith Prestige Ball was a dance held near the beginning of the year, with many important people attending to boost the school's popularity, and scout kids for universities or high-ranking jobs.

"Wonderful! As you can see, the Culinary Club is very exciting and would be a lovely option to attend. Only three members have joined so far, including the President herself, so there is plenty of room for others. There are other clubs too: we have many sports programs, arts programs, music programs, or academic programs. There is a little something for everyone, no matter what your passion is. So, with that said, I must go. But I urge you all to consider joining a club!" and with a smile as sweet as she had come in with, she left, all of the students clapping.

"Well, wasn't that fun?" Mrs. Hinamori asked, and as Jun went to sit down, a quiet hum could be heard in the distance. Nobody seemed to hear it at first, but it began to grow closer. It was somebody singing. It was a beautiful, enchantingly captivating voice. Heads turned towards the window, and nobody said anything. They were all too focused on the voice. It grew louder, and suddenly, there was a woman above the town square, floating there. It was close enough for the school to be able to see her.

"My name is Sable." she announced, loud enough for the whole town to hear. Suddenly, the trance over the classroom stopped as the singing did. "I am here because I felt the power source of the girl who defeated my colleague yesterday. You will give her to me… Or I will destroy your town!" the students inside began to panic. The teacher tried to keep them calm, but they were freaking out. Luckily they didn't begin to stampede out of the classroom. As she saw no sign of Hope, however, she grew angry.

"Very well… I will do what I must." The woman seemed to transform as Dusk had done two days earlier. Her eyes changed color, with red sclera and white pupils and irises. Her hair whipped around her as black, feathery wings grew from her back. Her skirt grew longer, going down to her ankles. Her hands were clawed, now, as curled horns similar to Dusk's grew, only a dark orange instead of red. Tattoos wrapped themselves around her arms, the sleeves of her shirt and coat shredding. " **SHAORI! COME FORTH!"**

As she said this, she pulled a vial from her pocket. It was filled with the same black liquid ooze as Dusk had, and Jun began to get antsy. She had to leave, but she had no idea how to do it without being caught and exposed. Sable pulled the cork from the top of the vial, pouring its contents onto the ground. The ooze began to bubble and coagulate into something sinister. It was a monster similar to the one Jun had fought before, but this time instead of glasses like Ume's, it had round wire glasses and freckles… Just like Emika.

" **Scared-rii… Scared-rii… What if I embarrass myself in front of my first friend-rii… What if I can't be like the Pink Hero-rii…** " it whined, stomping around as if it were pacing. It held its head in its hand and Sable crossed her arms with a smug look.

" **I will order my Shaori to attack unless I see Cure Hope within the next ten minutes! You'd better hurry, or you'll be defeated by me, Sable! The most beautiful Dark Land General!** " she shouted, followed by a laugh. She seemed confident in herself. Jun looked at Emika who had begun to tear up. She probably knew it was venting her own feelings, but was too embarrassed to say anything. Jun had had enough. She wouldn't sit by and watch her friend cry. The monster thudding around created small tremors, which gave her the perfect excuse.

"Miss Hinamori! The thud made me hit my knee, can I go to the nurse?" Jun asked, feigning injury. The teacher, to preoccupied with keeping the students in line, simply nodded with a wave of her hand. Jun stood, grabbed her bag, and ran from the classroom, nobody paying any attention to her except Emika, who watched her leave as one single tear fell.

"Jubilee! Who is she?!" She asked her owl fairy who had wormed his way out of her bag. The fairy was a bit concerned, and looked out the windows to see the Shaori rampaging outside in the town square, with Sable floating above it.

"That's Sable, another Dark Land General-jubi… She's prideful, and considers herself to be better than others… She's very strong, so be careful around her-jubi!" he said. "You should transform quickly, so that nobody has to get hurt-jubi!"

"You don't have to tell me twice!" she said emphatically, looking around to make sure nobody was around when she got out of the school building. When she was positive nobody would see her, she placed a hand over her necklace to transform as she had the first time. When she wasn't transformed, her Everheart Stone took the form of a necklace.

"Pink Everheart Stone! Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" As she said the words, that pink beam of light enveloped her again and she felt her clothes change for a second time, her hair following shortly after. It was those two pink pigtails, and that fluffy skirt with vest and big pink bow. Transforming a second time didn't feel as weird as the first.

"The light of a new tomorrow! Cure Hope!" she called her catchphrase as if she had done it a thousand times before. This form was so natural to her it was almost scary. "Alright! Let's go kick some monster butt!" She gave a crooked grin. Jubilee got revved up.

"Yeah! Let's do this-jubi!" he cried, and held on tight to Hope's shoulder as she jumped high into the air. She landed just in the town square, in front of the monster with Sable above her. The said lady floated down the ground, her wings flapping softly. She landed on the ground, only feet away from Hope.

" **You're the one who defeated Dusk? Well, I can see why. You're** _ **much**_ **more pretty than he is… but I'm still more beautiful than you could ever be!** " she scoffed. Hope's eyebrows furrowed and she looked at Sable seriously.

"You should leave, or I'll be forced to fight you. I don't want it to have to come to violence if I can help it." she said firmly. Sable scoffed, turning away from her. Hope sighed, hands dropping to her sides. She really didn't want to fight, but if it had to come to it… "Fine. Don't say I didn't warn you, Sable."

" **You… You used my name…** " she muttered. " **No matter! Shaori, attack!** " she pointed at Hope, back only half turned. She flapped her wings, returning to her vantage point in the sky. Jubilee hopped off of Hope's shoulder, standing back as she took an offensive position. She leapt up as the Shaori took a swing at her, the drippy black fist not making contact. She pushed herself off of the side of a building, twisting so her foot was aimed out as she landed on the Shaori, kicking it. The force to its face knocked it over, and it began to cry as it forced itself back up.

" **No good-rii! I'm no good-rii! I'll never be like the Pink Hero-rii!** " it cried, flailing wildly at Hope. She dodged the attacks, leaping from side to side as it flung chunks of ooze at her. It reformed itself, collecting the ooze it had lost, and Hope paused for only a moment.

"That's not true at all! You are good, Emika!" she yelled, not thinking. She was just so worried about her friend… That she didn't even notice the gooey blob hurling itself directly at her. It landed with a wet smack, sending Hope flying back into a tree. Sable laughed, coming towards the Cure now stuck to a tree. She was seemingly convinced she had won.

" **Pathetic. If Dusk couldn't even beat you, then something's wrong with him. I'll just be taking that fairy of yours.** " She smirked. As she reached for the owl, a voice pierced through any and all sound that could've been heard.

"STOP HURTING THE PINK HERO!" A cry so intense it shocked both Sable and Hope. They both looked, seeing an upset Emika with tears flowing down her face. "I won't… I won't stand by and watch you hurt her! Seeing such a confident hero made me want to be better…! I won't let you hurt her!" she kept repeating it. A light shone from Jubilee's gem, and the owl fairy gasped excitedly. He flew up to Emika, looking her in the eyes.

"Emika, you're a candidate to become Precure-jubi! You can stand up to Sable with this power-jubi!" he informed. Emika froze, shocked.

"You're… You gave the Pink Hero her power? And… You want me to become a hero like her?!" she replied. Jubilee nodded firmly.

"That's Cure Hope-jubi! She's fighting to stop the Dark Land Kingdom who destroyed my home-jubi! And she needs her allies… You're one of them-jubi!" he cried.

"Me… a hero? Cure Hope… Fights to save your home… I can be her ally…" she seemed to be taking it all in, confused but understanding at the same time. She took a deep but unsteady breath. "I… I understand. I'll… I'll do it… I'll help Cure Hope!"

"Wonderful-jubi! Take this, and call out what comes to your heart-jubi!" he smiled widely, excited for another Cure to be joining them. A thin beam of light like the one Hope had saw when she first got her powers shot out from Jubilee's gem. It presented Emika with an Everheart Stone, one of her very own. Emika held it close to her chest and called out her transformation.

"Red Everheart Stone! Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" A comforting red light surrounded her, a pillar in the sky to anybody else. Her clothes began to glow, and she felt so normal doing this as if it were an everyday occurrence. From her hands clasped to her chest burst out a bow, with the Everheart right in the center. Next, red and white ribbons swirled around her like a maypole. They wrapped around her body, popping into a white dress with red trim. A pair of red shorts was underneath. A short white vest with trim was next, a small, curved hole at the bottom. A white pair of gloves were after, going up to the elbows, curving with a red outline. Socks came from the ribbons next, and finally, booties came last, with small heart-shaped gems on the ankles and red trim.

Her hair transformed after the outfit, from being short and flipping outward to poofy and with big swirls of hair resting on her cheeks. Her hair was rounded and went just to her neck, with a small curled piece sticking out from her part. A ribbon popped onto the left side of her head with a small flame, and she smiled, tears from earlier disappearing.

" **Not another one!** " Sable groaned. Hope smiled, her grin growing wider by the second. Jubilee smiled, too.

"Now name yourself-jubi! Pick the kind of warrior you want to be-jubi!" he called.

"The light of endless courage! Cure Brave!" and as she said this, she looked at herself. "I… I'm just like Cure Hope…! I can… I can do this!" she reassured herself, clenching a fist. Brave ran over to the girl trapped in the tree, yanking on the ooze that was holding her in place. It wouldn't budge, no matter how hard she pulled.

"Use your powers-jubi! You have many different ones, just call out the first one that comes to your heart-jubi!" the fairy informed. Brave nodded, keeping an eye on the monster at the same time as helping Hope. It seemed Sable was more preoccupied with fuming about another Cure.

"Brave Flash!" she called out, hands pressed against the ooze. With a bright white light, the black tar-like substance dissolved. Hope immediately rushed to hug Brave, lifting her in the air and twirling her.

"Oh, Emika, I'm so happy you're a Precure! It's me, Jun!" she giggled. "But first, we've gotta take down that Shaori!"

"J-Jun?! O-O-Oh, yes, the Shaori!" Brave nodded. She got into a ready position, holding her fists in front of her. "Wh-What do we do, exactly…?"

"We have to wear it out, then purify it!" Hope explained, leaping into the air to let fly a flurry of punches at the monster. It morphed as she was punching, no longer personifying Emika. Instead, it took on the form of another person, this time with ooze resembling wavy hair and purple eyeshadow where the eyes of it would be, if it had any eyes.

" **Terrified-rii! Terrified-rii! There's a monster-rii! What if my family gets hurt-rii?!** " it exclaimed. Was somebody worried that the monster would hurt them? Brave took a deep breath.

"I won't let anybody get hurt!" she proclaimed solidly, so assured of herself that it almost seemed her words alone would protect the people. Hope grinned widely, happy that Brave was standing up to the fear that she had felt earlier. Not only did she have a new partner, but it was somebody who was her friend!

"Yeah! What Brave said! We won't let you hurt the hair on a single person!" she pointed at the monster. It swung a fist at the two, almost landing. However, they both jumped out of the way, fists forward for a double punch. It smacked the monster in the face, and it stumbled backwards. Hope charged up some kind of attack, energy focused on her foot. She charged forward, leaping into a kick.

"Hopeful Kick!" and as it made contact with the monster's legs, it doubled in force with an explosion of pink energy. It fell over, dazed and lying on the ground. Hope turned to Brave, and Sable floated angrily above them.

" **Gah! Shaori, get up! Defeat them already!** " She commanded. It struggled to get up, and as it did, Hope urged Brave on.

"Go ahead! Purify it!" she smiled. Brave smiled back with a small nod; It was as if she already knew what to do somehow without ever having done it before, just as it was for Hope. She pressed a hand over her chest.

"Everheart! Become my weapon!" She called. The everheart separated from her bow and from it formed a hammer, white and red with a bow tied underneath it. The Everheart Stone rested at the end of the hammer's handle, and Brave's hands clasped around it tightly. She felt that confidence in her heart… She knew what she had to do.

"Take this…! Unwavering courage! Bigger… Bigger…" the hammer grew to an enormous size, bigger than the monster was. Hope didn't even know how she was holding it up! It glowed with a red aura, flames curling around the edge of the flat, hitting side. "Precure Brave Bang!"

She brought the hammer down on top of the Shaori, the black sludge exploding all around them. Some landed on Sable's face, and she grew red with anger at her makeup being ruined. At quickly sucked itself back in as she retracted her hammer, the gigantic weapon shrinking down to normal and returning to its Everheart form. The vial formed around the now-red sludge that they had purified, and Sable landed, swiped it angrily, and promptly left without a single word. It was a bit anticlimactic considering the fight they'd had, but Hope was happy to have a partner.

* * *

"That's so sad… I'm very sorry about your home, Jubilee. I'll try my best… Alongside Jun." Emika smiled after hearing Jubilee's explanation, now in the Gazebo for lunch time. The people had calmed down, cheering on the heroes excitedly and humming with cheer when they had won. Jun smiled back, happily eating lunch with her new partner. This was the first time she had shown anybody her secret eating place, but she was happy to introduce it to a fellow Precure.

"Thank you-jubi! You have no idea how much that means to me-jubi. By the way, there should be more Precure joining you some time soon-jubi." Jubilee informed happily. Jun and Emika paused eating, looking at the brown fairy.

"Huh? More? How many are there gonna be?" Jun asked curiously. Jubilee thought for a moment.

"Well, the prophecies mentioned eight warriors-jubi. I'm gonna guess that that's how many there are supposed to be-jubi." he explained. Jun and Emika both looked at him.

"EIGHT?!"

* * *

 _PREVIEW_ : Emika becomes Cure Brave! What an awesome change! But what happens when somebody catches the two heroes transforming?!

 **NEXT EPISODE** : _Senpai Cares! The Third Cure!_


	3. Senpai Cares! The Third Cure!

Jun and Emika had decided to walk to school together every day following their discovery of each other's partnership. Jun would happily run up to her friend, grasp her hand, and take off in a march holding it softly. They had really started to enjoy each other's company, and it showed. Even Emika was becoming less anxious around Jun, who was excited in itself just to have her around. It was a great friendship.

"So… We're catering the Golden Faith Prestige Ball? Are you sure we can do it?" Emika asked, looking at Jun with a worried expression. Ume was the Culinary Club's treasurer/vice president and often kept Jun in check when she wanted to make an impulsive purchase, but she was out sick today with a cold. Jun nodded at Emika's question with a whole lot of enthusiasm.

"Of course we can! We'll do it, no sweat, and I'm sure your desserts will be the talk of the town for days!" she gushed, beginning to ramble about how excited she was and what she was going to cook. Emika smiled and nodded, Jun's assured nature and excitable personality rubbing off on her. It had been two days since Emika became a Precure - Cure Brave - and a Dark Land general had yet to show up. They were a little worried, but Jubilee was confident that they could win and find all of their partners. They had begun setting up their menu for the Prestige Ball when they got a knock on the club door.

"Coming! One second!" Jun called, rushing up to it. When she opened, she was greeted with a gentle smile she had seen on the day Emika became Cure Brave. "Oh, Konoko-senpai!"

"Hello, miss Izanama. I wanted to thank you for your small speech the other day. I also wanted to let you know that it would be in your best interest to try and get a new member of your club. It's fine as it is, but if anybody leaves, then it'll be a gathering, not an official club." she informed with a serious tone. Emika looked worried, but Jun thought for a moment. She smiled widely after a few moments, nodding.

"Right! I bet we can get a member soon enough. I've just gotta put the club out there! Oh, and Emika, you can leave that to Ume and I. I know you don't like public speaking and all, so you don't have to, okay?" she turned. Emika nodded with a relieved smile.

"You care for your friends, don't you miss Izanama? You're very attuned to their worries and comforts." she commented. Jun giggled and waved Yuki inside, and as she stepped inside the Culinary Club's room, she smelled a wonderful aroma. "Oh my… It smells delicious. What are you making, if I may ask?"

"We're working on our menu for the Prestige Ball while we try out new dessert recipes! Emika and I made this cake together. You're welcome to try a slice when it's done, it only has a little bit more to go." she offered, taking her seat back at the table next to Emika. Yuki sat on the other side of Jun, looking at the menu.

"It looks like it'll be a delicious night with all the food you've got planned. Are you sure only three people can make it all? It seems like a large workload." Yuki pointed out. Jun shook her head.

"Not really. These are our ideas, anyways, not the final plan. We have a two months before the ball, so we have plenty of time to plan and prepare. Since you're on the student council, you'll be attending, right senpai?" she asked curiously. Yuki nodded. "Then, is there anything you'd like to have on the menu? We can make a special exception if it's something small."

"I wouldn't want to bother, but… I do have a particular affinity for any kind of chocolate sweets. Any kind is fine." she replied. Jun thought for a moment, then grinned.

"We can do that!" she exclaimed. "How does chocolate lava cake sound?!" she asked excitedly. Emika laughed just a little.

"Jun, that's… that's a little extravagant, don't you think?" she asked. Jun paused, and Emika and Yuki giggled.

"Oh, you think so? Well then, I'll use my secret Jun Izanama-brand secret recipe chocolate fudge brownies! Super simple, but so yummy!" she declared, pointing high in the air. Her two friends laughed, and they all just went along. Jun's excitement was easily infectious.

"Well, it certainly sounds exciting. Let me know when you've got a full menu worked out, I'd love to come see it. In the meantime, I'd love to try some of that cake!" Yuki smiled, standing. Jun stood as well.

"Oh, it's done already? Nice! Only one more minute. I'll get the mitts ready, and then we can ice it after I pull it out. It's good to do the icing while it's warm so that it gets all gooey and stuff! We're trying out our own recipe for a cinnamon roll cake, after all." she explained. Yuki nodded, watching intently as Jun pulled out the cake happily. She put it on the counter, and Emika held the two icing bags with a smile. "Actually, Emika, would you mind getting a third one for Yuki? I'm sure she'd love to help,"

"Is it okay for me to? I'm not part of the club, so I don't wish to overstep my boundaries." she murmured. Jun shook her head and hugged Yuki full-force.

"Everybody's welcome here in the Culinary Club! Especially friends!" she grinned as she let go. Yuki had a surprised look on her face, with a small blush, but it grew into a soft, heartwarming smile that could relax anybody. She sighed and took an icing bag, happily joining the two as they iced.

"Hey, do you two remember the incident with the monster in the town square two days ago, and that second hero appearing?" Yuki asked, out of the blue. Jun and Emika froze. Emika was especially petrified, so all the speaking was left up to Jun.

"Um… Oh yeah! I, uh, bumped my knee and went to the nurse when it happened!" she lied again. She hated to do it, but it was for everyone's safety. Yuki paused as she seemed to sense this, but didn't pry into the matter. "Why do you ask…?"

"Well, you know, it's just a huge surprise. Real life heroes and such, you know? They're very cool, I imagine it must be nice to have those kinds of powers." she thought aloud with a pondering expression on her face. Jun nodded.

"Y-Yeah, definitely, uh, nice. But kind of dangerous, right?" she asked, trying to make it look unsuspicious. She still wasn't any good at keeping things secret…

"Oh, of course. Fighting monsters like that… I imagine it must be some terrifying work. But those heroes are very brave." she nodded solemnly. Emika peeped.

"Um… Brave? U-Uh, yes, very brave…" she hid behind Jun, feeling ashamed just a little. As they finished icing the cake and cutting it, the tension about heroes dissolved away as the icing did on the cake. Jun served a slice to each of the two other girls, and then to herself. They all took a bite at the same time, exclaiming "Itadakimasu!" and digging in.

"Oh my, it's really good! I'm not a huge fan of cinnamon rolls myself, to be honest, but this is wonderful!" Yuki sighed happily, digging into more of her piece. Jun and Emika smiled and watched as their newest creation went off without a hitch. Looks like they had something to add to the menu! Yuki smiled and finished her piece with vigor. She really did enjoy being in charge of clubs, sometimes, especially when she made friends through them.

* * *

"Dusk and Sable. You have both failed me. I am extremely disappointed in you two, you know. I could still punish you greatly, even from this accursed stone prison. You are lucky there is one more of you to try and _fix_ the mess you've created." a hissing voice came from a shadowy statue. The statue was of a man, dressed in an extravagant suit, holding a large staff in his left hand and a cracked, heart-shaped stone in the other.

"Prince Shadow, I assure you, it wasn't my intention to fail. I was simply caught a bit off guard, if I may have a second chance, I promise I won't disappoint you!" Sable pleaded. Prince Shadow gave a low, eerie, snake-like laugh.

"Please. If I wanted another failure I'd send you. For now we'll have to try and rely on brute strength. If even this fails, then maybe I'll consider sending you again. Just maybe, since you begged so nicely." If he wasn't a statue, the man would probably have been smirking. Sable turned away in shame as roaring laughter came down a hallway. She knew that voice…

"YO! PRINCE SHADOW! I heard you needed me to get something done?" a man grinned, stepping into the room. He was extremely large, with bulging muscles and a suit with sleeves torn right off. His hair was a dark, murky black, almost midnight blue like the depths of the ocean. It was worn long, longer than both Sable's and Dusk's, in a single ponytail low on his head. His bangs went with his red eyes, somehow, and his eyes went with his blazing red tie. He crossed his arms, suit stretching to capacity with them.

"Yes… Ink, I want you to destroy the Precure. We must get them out of our way so we can become free to collect the Everlast Seeds ourselves. We won't get anywhere with _them_ in our way." Prince Shadow informed. Ink nodded curtly.

"Easy-peasy! Those two squirts just aren't on my level." he spat. And with that, he was gone. Sable and Dusk could only frown and look away from the statue's stony gaze.

* * *

"Oh, you're leaving already, Yuki?" Jun asked, wrapping up their cinnamon roll cake and storing it in a box. She nodded with a sigh.

"Yes, as much as it breaks my heart to leave such sweet underclassmen, I've got a student council meeting in a little bit. We're discussing the budget and other boring math stuff I just don't get." she rolled her eyes. Jun nodded in understanding.

"Me too, me too. I hate math. But hey, take this with you! You can share this with the others and tell them how awesome the Culinary Club is!" she smiled, handing over the box. Yuki took it with a surprised look.

"Are you sure? You worked so hard on it… You don't want to keep it?" she asked. Jun shook her head.

"No, we've got the recipe. And besides, sharing it is what makes it good! If I keep it all to myself, then others won't know the yummy taste of our new recipe!" she explained. "My dream is to open my own restaurant… I've wanted to since my sixth birthday."

"Oh, what a wonderful dream. I really appreciate the cake, Miss Izanama." Yuki nodded.

"Oh, please, call me Jun. Well, I suppose you should get going. Good luck at the meeting!" she grinned. Emika nodded and wished the same. Yuki smiled brightly in return, and nodded as she stepped out of the clubroom. As she made her way out, Jubilee popped out from Jun's bag.

"Thank goodness I can talk-jubi! Look, there's not much time, I think there's a Dark Land General nearby-jubi!" he announced with a scared tone. "Be careful, but you've just gotta transform-jubi!"

"Right! Let's go, Emika." Jun laid a hand over the Everheart stone on her necklace. Emika took a deep breath, doing the same. They both called out at the same time, the glowing lights enveloping them.

"Pink Everheart Stone! Precure..."

"Red Everheart Stone! Precure..."

"IMMORTAL CHANGE!" and as they both began to transform, a sliding door opened.

"Hey guys, I think I left my… bag… in here…" Yuki dropped the cake as Jun transformed into Cure Hope and Emika into Cure Brave. They froze, turning around to see Yuki standing slack-jawed in the doorway. Brave freaked out, hiding behind Hope, and Jubilee went ahead of them, out the window.

"Oh no, what are we going to do?! She saw us transform! Now everyone'll know our identity and they'll be in danger!" she cried. Yuki paused her gaping for a moment and looked at the two. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then opened them again. It seemed as if she couldn't believe it, but then again, anybody would be aghast at seeing two people transform.

"I… I won't tell anybody. If it means protecting others, then I understand. I'll keep your secret, you two. Now go and save everyone, okay?" she smiled gently. She was so nice and understanding… How? If it were anybody else, they probably would've given their identity away to the media for a few quick bucks.

"Yuki… thank you for your compassion. I really appreciate it. You're a really great friend, you know?" Hope gave a smile and started to walk over to the window, Brave following. "I'll make you the best brownies you've ever had as thanks, okay? Look forward to them!"

"Y-You're welcome…!" she exclaimed as Hope and Brave leapt from the window to follow the fairy that had left before them. She almost couldn't believe what she had seen, but she'd told them that she wouldn't tell anyone and she meant it. Yuki always kept her word.

* * *

"So where is this Dark Land General, anyways?" Hope asked when they landed outside. Jubilee blushed embarrassingly.

"Well… Um… He's kind of… Gone-jubi. As in, he _was_ here, but you know, he uh, left-jubi…" he turned away from them slightly. Hope sighed and dropped her head. Brave rested her head on Hope's shoulder.

"So we… Transformed in front of Yuki for absolutely no reason? This seems like a poorly timed plot device." Brave sighed. Hope nodded her head in agreement.

"I'm sorry-jubi! I really didn't mean for it to happen, he just left-jubi! I don't know what he was doing here, but whatever it was, it couldn't have been good so I just wanted you guys to go check it out-jubi… I promise it was an accident-jubi…" he sniffled. Hope sighed and plopped onto the ground, petting Jubilee's head.

"I forgive you, Jubilee. We've just gotta be more careful about where we transform, okay? We can't just do it anywhere, especially since TV crews are looking for us everywhere. " she explained. Brave tapped her shoulder.

"TV crews… you mean like that one…?" she pointed to a man with a microphone in hand and a woman with a camera on her shoulder running full-speed towards them. Hope stood quickly, picking Jubilee up as well.

"Yes, exactly like that one! We've gotta go!" she cried. The woman hollered 'wait!' but the two Cures began running away. The man - apparently an athlete runner or something on top of a reporter - caught up to them before they could get away. He was panting slightly but gave a thumbs up to the woman.

"Hello, Otonashi On-the Spot News reporter Hanataro Fujishima, on-site where I've encountered the two heroes who saved our town! I've got several questions for you two ladies!" he exclaimed proudly. Brave hid shyly behind Hope, but still showed her face. "First of all: what are your names? We've gotta have something to call our heroes!"

"U-Uh, no comment, thanks. We're um, secret heroes…" she mumbled. She didn't have anything to say. "B-But look, um, we'll answer you some other time. We've got work to do!" and with that, she took ahold of Brave's hand and leapt away. They couldn't just expose themselves. The man, face angry, turned away.

"I can't believe it! Another failure to report. At this point, I'll be fired…" he muttered. His partner patted his shoulder reassuringly. Above them, Ink floated menacingly, staring at the reporter with a smug expression. He seemed to think he was already victorious.

"Perfect… I can use him. That stupid fairy can't even detect me well because he's so weak. I'll crush those brats for him and become Prince Shadow's right hand." he grinned. Ink was definitely the more terrifying of the three so far, but the Cures had yet to discover this. Oh, but they would understand soon.

* * *

Yuki sat in her Student Council meeting a few days later, still amazed by her discovery of her two underclassman being superheroes. It was crazy, and she almost still couldn't believe it. But she had seen it with her own eyes, so she had to believe it. She had also seen the on-the-spot news report later that day, of the two heroes embarrassingly being caught. Since then, the reporter Hanataro, had been harassing them almost every time they went out.

Jun and Emika had explained everything afterwards, and Yuki even got to meet Jubilee. She understood their dedication and why they felt they had to do it. But that reporter… every time Jubilee sensed something, it was as if he was there on the scene, and he would not stop dogging them, and the two heroes hated it. Yuki was around sometimes, and she got the guy off their backs once, but that didn't stop him from trying over and over again. She was really starting to get bothered by that guy at this point.

"Alright, council meeting's over. If you would all attend to your duties, that would be wonderful. And Yuki, would you mind checking on the Culinary Club? They've had their VP out sick for a while now. Just go in and check on them and make sure they're doing alright." the president instructed. Yuki nodded. So she was going back to the Culinary Club, hmm… As she stepped out of the room, she thought happily about seeing the cute owl fairy again. Maybe keeping their secret wouldn't be such a bad thing.

As she stepped into the connecting glass hallway, she looked outside, noting the lovely day. She also noted… Hanataro Fujishima?! He was wandering around the school! He must've been waiting for Hope and Brave to appear. He even brought the camera all by himself, no assistant this time. She had had enough. She was going to go tell that guy off.

"Hey!" she called out, stepping outside. The reporter looked up in surprise. When he saw who it was, however, he furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. They had already come to blows once and they were not on good terms. She stomped up to him and looked him dead in the eye. The man - admittedly smaller than Yuki was - looked up and stood his ground. They were both very stubborn, as it seemed.

"Listen. Those two are protecting people. Can't you just leave them alone and let them do their heroics in peace?! They're young girls, obviously, fighting gigantic creatures, and you harassing them is making their job even more stressful." she scolded the man. He winced, as if her words seemed to hurt him. "I hope you feel bad for doing this."

"I… I do… I feel horrible, okay?! But it's either this or my job!" he lashed out back. "Aagh! My… Head, my head hurts!" He fell to his knees. A goopy black substance seemed to be forming from the back of his head. It flew off in globs towards the thick foliage surrounding the school. A man, huge and intimidating, stepped out from behind the trees. It seemed the black substance was going to him. He had a hole in his hand, and every time some of the substance flew in, Yuki could feel an ominous pulse coming from the hole.

Back at the castle, Sable and Dusk looked on in awe as Ink's portal let fly all the substance he was collecting. It attached itself to the statue of Prince Shadow, and the area of the right shoe where the toes would be became colored. A voice came from the statue as it breathed a sigh of relief and a wispy 'Finally'.

"Wh-What's going on?! What are you doing to that man?!" Yuki cried. Hanataro groaned in pain as the black substance stopped coming from his head and he passed out. The large man laughed, seemingly uncaring - even happy - about the man's pain.

"I took his raw Negative Energy. All of his anger, jealousy, hatred, and fear… It's going to restore Prince Shadow to his former glory. This man was the perfect candidate. And you… Should I take your Negative Energy as well? You're upset about something… You're scared that your friends will get hurt. How pathetic. If you have to rely on something like friendship then you're just as weak as all the other humans." he spat. Yuki balled her fists.

"It's not… It's not pathetic to rely on somebody sometimes. Jun and Emika… They're my first friends in this school…! They care about me, so it's only natural I care about them! They protect the whole world… So I'm going to take care of them in return!" and as she called out that last sentence, a bright yellow light came flying towards them with an ecstatic 'jubiiiiii!'.

"Yuki! You're a candidate to become a Precure-jubi!" Jubilee smacked into her at full speed, Hope and Brave landing just after. Yuki looked shocked as Hope and Brave went directly into battle. She held Jubilee for a moment.

"Me, a hero like them? I, I couldn't, I'm not strong enough. Jun and Emika, they're so strong in their own ways, but me? I'm-!" she was cut off by an angry Hope.

"Absolutely not! There's no way you're weak!" she shouted, meanwhile Ink poured out his bottle of Negative Energy onto the ground. The ooze began forming a Shaori, the monsters that Jun had begun to fight already. "There's no way, because you stood up for your own kind feelings! There's no way that's weak, you know!"

"Hope…" Yuki murmured, and the Shaori roared. It was a humanoid black creature with glowing, red eyes and one of its hands was shaped like a microphone. It must've been Hanataro. Yuki took a step back. "S-Still, that thing…!"

"That's where I come in-jubi! With the Precure's power, you can fight anything-jubi!" he assured her. The Shaori began to stomp around furiously, shouting Hanataro's unhappy feelings all over the place. She listened with watery eyes.

" **I'm terrible-rii! Terrible-rii! I can't provide for my family-rii!** " it sobbed. Yuki looked away shamefully, clenching Jubilee tightly.

"I said such things… I must fix what I've done. I only did it in their best interest, but I had no idea… I've got to apologize. And they… My friends need my help, I've got to do this! Jubilee, make me a Precure!" Yuki agreed firmly. Jubilee gasped happily.

"Yes! I knew it, that's the spirit-jubi! Take this, and say what you feel in your heart-jubi!" he explained, a beam of yellow light shooting from the jewel on Jubilee's chest. It formed into a heart-shaped necklace just like Jun and Emika's, and she knew what to do like it was second nature to her. She held the necklace up, and called out what she had heard her friends do the other day…

"Yellow Everheart Stone! Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" as she shouted her call, a sparkling, bright yellow light swirled around her in a pillar that shot into the sky. Her clothes glittered and shone and onto her chest burst a poofy yellow bow, with her Everheart stuck firmly in the center. A yellow vest was next, with golden trim and short yellow sleeves with wavy, rounded edges. A skirt in the same fashion next, with ribbons of the same golden trim color wrapping themselves snugly around her legs, making thigh high socks.

White boots with the same trim that formed little hearts at the rounded top, and white elbow-length gloves with golden trim and ruffles were last to complete the outfit as she clapped her hands and tapped her feet together. Her hair went from dusty, brownish blonde to bright and yellow like the sun itself shone from her hair. Her bangs parted, and large, clear jewels put her hair into perfect pigtails, each round and poofy. She breathed in, and did a little twirl as she hit the ground. The light dissipated with the clack of her boots hitting the concrete.

"The light of a soft heart! Cure Kind!" she pointed towards the Shaori. "I'll make sure to save you and keep everyone safe!" Hope's eyes shone and Brave gave a big smile.

"Kind! Let's fight together!" Hope called out to her. Brave nodded in agreement. Kind smiled back and Ink roared.

"Stupid, stupid! They said there were two of you! Well, whatever! It doesn't matter if there are three or three hundred! I'll beat all of you! Unlike my coworkers, I don't need to transform to beat you! Shaori, attack!" Ink commanded. The Shaori seemed to yell into its microphone, creating a sonic wave that tossed Hope and Brave - who were in its path - several feet into the air. Kind flinched and got into a fighting stance.

"Hope! Brave! What do I do?!" she cried, jumping to avoid a swing by the blobby monster. Brave stumbled and got up after her fall, and gave another smile.

"You're doing it! Just get it weakened, and then purify it with your everheart!" She explained excitedly. It seemed that as Brave, she was much less shy, and more excitable. Perhaps she felt like she was able to be herself.

"Got it! I'll do my-!" she was cut off with a gasp as the Shaori swooped in and grasped Hope and Brave tightly with its free hand. Kind began running towards it. "Hey! You let go of my friends right now!"

"I told you, stupid girl, friendship is useless! Especially when your friends are as weak as this! Pathetic. My muscles are better than them! Ha!" Ink scoffed. Kind balled her hands into fists, and raised an arm. It almost seemed as if there were a wing glowing around it. She took a deep breath and swung it.

"Kind Flight!" the glowing wing shot out, smacking into the Shaori's arm. It stumbled and dropped the two other cures, wobbly and disoriented from the attack. Hope and Brave both landed safely on their feet. "I'm telling you… Friendship isn't stupid. I only came to this school last year… And I made no friends. But now… These two, who are so nice to me… They are my first friends. I will make sure nobody hurts them And if somebody does…" Kind got a terrifying expression on her face. It was so scary, Ink actually recoiled slightly.

"I'll make sure to return it 100-fold! Everheart, become my weapon!" Her Everheart separated from her bow, glowing a bright, comforting yellow. It grew and grew, morphing into a thin heart shaped band. She held her hands in a heart formation next to her chest. "A heart full of feelings, beaming brightly…"

The ring shot off, hula-hooping its way down to the middle of the Shaori. "KIND RING!" The single band separated into many, and they all tightened and tightened, glowing brighter. The rings tightened so much that the Shaori popped, and the retracted back until it formed a vial of yellow liquid.

"Gah! Pathetic weapon. At least I got some Negative Energy for Prince Shadow. I'll be back! I will, and next time I'll transform! You got that?!" he snatched his vial back, the yellow liquid morphing back into black ooze as he touched it. He left via a black hole similar to the one that was on his hand. Kind let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding.

"I… I can't believe I did that… Oh my god. Oh my god." she fell to her knees and Hope and Brave ran up, ecstatic. "You guys… You do this all the time? Haha… Man, you guys sure are something." she joked.

"Ha… Yeah, but now you're a part of the team! You were wonderful, Kind, and I'm really happy you can be our friend. Right, Brave?" Hope grinned. Brave nodded quickly.

"Of course! Jun's right. You're a wonderful friend, senpai." she giggled. Kind smiled happily back at them, standing again. "O-Oh, um, I think the reporter's awake."

"You! There's three of you now?!" he gasped excitedly, as if he had won the lottery. He grasped the camera and turned it on and held up his microphone. It was almost as if nothing had happened! And his unhappiness seemed to have left as well. "Please, will you say a few words?"

"Yes. This time… We will." Kind spoke up. "We do indeed fight the monsters you saw. But we need to do so with the confidence that people are safe! If people keep following us, such as yourselves, then you may get hurt in the process." she seemed to grow grim remembering the scene from earlier, when he was in so much pain. "We will speak when we deem it safe to do so. Deal?" she offered her hand.

"Um… Uh, yes! Of course! And as our heroes, we've gotta have something to call you. What's your names?" he asked, prying. Kind smiled, shaking her head.

"Now, now, we're not that silly. But if you must have something to call us… What do you think?" she turned to her partners. Jun nodded that it was okay to say, having heard Jubilee whisper-yell to her from in a tree. "We are Precure."

* * *

 **NEXT EPISODE** : _Oh No! A Big Pinch!_


	4. Oh No! A Big Pinch!

Jun, Emika, and Yuki were practically inseparable after they had all become partners. They had been eating lunch in the Gazebo together every day, and Yuki had even gotten permission to join the Culinary Club on top of being in the Student Council. Since she was in the latter, she was able to go between buildings freely, and visit her friends whenever they wanted to hang out. Ume had come back, now over her cold and healthy again. This made freely transforming and talking about Precure a little more difficult, but they were still good. Ume had become friends with Yuki as well, and they got along greatly. They had especially bonded over their annoyance of being taller than most girls.

It was a weekend, now, and Jun had a great idea - she wanted all of her friends to go out together and hang out, without the stresses of clubs or superhero work. She approached her mom as she was cooking breakfast for the families. Jun was still in her PJs, messy bedhead and buns down. She lightly tapped her on the shoulder, and the elder Izanama smiled at her daughter.

"Hey mama, I have a question for you… Um, I was wondering if my friends could come over for breakfast and maybe we could go out for a while." she asked, yawning. Her mom gasped happily, pressing a hand to her face.

"Of course they can, Jun! Oh, I'm so happy that you've been making some friends at school! You have no idea how much joy that brings me," she sniffed, tearing up a little. Jun smiled and patted her mom's arm as a reassurance not to cry. "Well, you'd better call them! Borrow the house phone, and I'll let the others know that we've got guests coming over. I'll even make extra breakfast for them!" she exclaimed. Her mom got so pumped up and ready for Jun's friends it almost seemed to Jun that she was making breakfast at top speed.

"Haha… Okay mama, I'll call them now. I love you," she said, patting out of the kitchen. Jun's mom got even more fired up hearing her daughter say 'I love you'. She was working so fast she seemed to be blurring at this point. Sometimes, Jun wondered if her mom was okay. Her mom loved cooking too, which is where she got it from, so she knew it would be alright in the end. She stepped into the living room, seeing the Akihito and Yoshiko families. Some were sitting by the TV, and some were at the table. Ume and Azami were sitting there, specifically, working on what looked to be homework.

"Yo, Jun! How are you? I've heard Culinary Club's been getting pretty busy lately. Crazy, it seemed like only last year you were begging the previous president to join, haha." Azami piped up. Jun smiled and laughed at her friend-slash-sister (they all considered each other sisters since they lived together).

"Yeah, it's been a lot of fun. How has basketball club been? You guys were winning the season so far, right?" she asked curiously, stepping towards the phone. Azami Akihito was tall, being the captain of the girl's basketball team, but not as tall as Ume or Yuki. She had tried getting Ume to play, once, but… That did NOT go well. Azami had long black hair, all the way down to her knees and she had some of it in two ponytails on the sides of her head. Her eyes were green and mirthful, and she had beautiful caramel skin dotted with freckles. Her mom was latina, and her dad was Japanese. She got her complexion from her mom, and her freckles from her dad. According to Mr. Akihito, they had met when he was away on business in Brazil when he still held his job as a businessman.

"Oh, it's going great, actually! We lost one game and won another. It hasn't really bothered me, since I know we're just starting out. We'll do great, after all they've got me! Ohoho!" she boasted jokingly, proud of herself. Jun giggled and picked up the phone that was on the small end table next to the couch. Everyone in the house shared one phone, and she didn't have one of her own, so the house phone it was. She dialed Yuki's number first, since their upperclassman lived further away than Emika.

" _Hello, Konoko household. May I help you?_ " a voice that wasn't Yuki's came over the phone, pleasant as could be.

"Hi, this is Jun Izanama. I'm Yuki's friend… is it too early to talk?" She asked politely. The voice laughed just a little bit, seemingly pleased.

" _No, not at all! This is Yuki's grandmother, by the way. I'm so happy to hear she's made some friends. She was so lonely before… Ah, Yuki, there you are. Your friend is on the phone!_ " her grandmother said, to a now excited Yuki who took over the phone.

" _Hello? Is this Jun or Emika?_ " she asked. In the background, her grandmother seemed even more excited that she had made two friends and not just one.

"Oh, it's Jun. I'm going to call Emika next, but I was wondering if you wanted to come over today! My mom's making breakfast and we could all go out to the park or something after we eat." she suggested pleasantly. Yuki seemed happy at the offer.

"Oh, I'd love to! I'm not busy today, so I'll get my stuff and let my grandparents know. Is this the number I should call in the future, by the way?" Yuki wondered.

"Yep! This is my house phone. Well, I'll see you later since I've got to call Emika okay?" Jun explained. Yuki agreed and they said their goodbyes before hanging up. She dialed Emika's number next, waiting as the like rang two or three times.

" _Hello, may I ask who's calling?_ " another unfamiliar voice sounded suspicious.

"Hi, I'm Emika's friend, Jun. She gave me this number, is it the right one?" Jun asked curiously. The voice sighed almost in a relieved tone.

"Yes, this is the right one. I was afraid you were a telemarketer, I'm sorry. I'm Emika's older brother, Sosuke. Our parents would've answered the phone but they're still sleeping, haha. Man, you know, she talks about you a lot. I'm super glad she met somebody like you!" he said excitedly. "She's in her room, I'll go get her. Hey sis, knock knock! Oh haha, you're in your pajamas. It's your friend, Jun, she-" the phone made a weird noise as it was swooped away by an indignant Emika.

"I am so sorry Jun, oh my gosh. Um, I hope he didn't talk your ear off…!" she mumbled. Jun laughed and shook her head though Emika couldn't see it.

"No, no, he was fine, though he did think I was a telemarketer. Well, I was wondering if you'd like to come over for breakfast and hang out today. I already invited Yuki, and I just thought it would be fun to hang out together."

"O-Oh, yeah! I'd love to! I can come over soon, I've just gotta change out of my pajamas and I'll be right over. I'm glad we live so close together, hehe. Well, I'll get ready and see you soon, Jun."

"Yeah! See you soon! I'm excited for today!"

* * *

"Whoa! This food is soooo good!" Yuki exclaimed. She and Emika had come over to eat breakfast and hang out afterwards. Azami and Ume had decided not to tag along, despite Jun's invitation on the grounds of mountains of Azami's unfinished homework.. Emika nodded in agreement with Yuki, but she was too busy eating to actually say anything. The others chuckled and Jun's mom was ecstatic.

"Yeah, her mom has always been a great cook. It's where she gets it from, probably," Azami explained. She had already finished her food at lightning speed, as well as Jun. They were the two fastest eaters in the world it seemed like, and yet they never got stomach aches. Everyone was always impressed at this but Emika and Yuki had already seen that when they became Precure.

"So, Jun, how did you end up becoming friends with a high schooler?" Azami's mom asked. Jun smiled, and Emika tried to smile but it did seem a little forced. They weren't going to tell anybody about Precure, they had promised Jubilee. Yuki stepped in for this one, before Jun could get a word out.

"Well, the student council consists of junior high students and high school students. We're the same school, just different grades, essentially. My job was to oversee club work and the like, so I met Jun after school at one of the meetings. We became friends there, she was just so nice I couldn't help but smile." she explained with a grin. Everyone chuckled.

"Jun's always been like that. Everyone smiles around her when she's happy, it's like you just can't stop yourself. It's one of her best qualities, I think." Ume replied. "Anyways, I'm really sorry we can't go out with you three. Azami has a lot of homework to catch up on, and I promised to help her out with it."

"Oh, i-it's alright. We understand, Maybe next time, y-yes?" Emika smiled at the two. Azami was chuckling and seemed embarrassed, but nodded.

"Yeah, definitely! You guys seem really cool. You could even come see me play in a game some time, yeah?" she suggested. Everyone smiled and agreed. They were all enjoying their meals, and the parents of the house were enjoying watching their kids having fun. As they enjoyed their breakfast, Jubilee sat in Jun's room, and got a feeling he wished he didn't know. Something wasn't right and he knew it.

* * *

"I'm going, Prince Shadow. I won't allow anybody else to do this, I must get my revenge on those Cures." Sable announced. Dusk and Ink looked at her with angry faces. They were both looking forward to battling the Cures for revenge, but it was ultimately Prince Shadow's decision. Even from his stone prison they feared his power.

"You dare say such things in front of Prince Shadow?" two voices rang out. Sable's eyes went wide. The voices came from behind Prince Shadow's statue. Two figures stepped out from behind it. One of them was a tall girl with black hair as straight as a board. Her bangs covered her eyes and she wore a black suit with a long, flowing skirt and a dark brown tie. Her shoes were heels, and her hair wasn't done up, it simply hung over her shoulders in two even halves.

The other girl was short and hunched over, with grey hair bordering on white. It was extremely curly and looked as if it hadn't ever been brushed. It was strung into two ponytails. Her suit was a light grey and it had a black tie. She wore puffy shorts instead of a skirt, and pantyhose underneath. Her shoes were black flats. She was a counterpart to the other girl, like yin and yang. At the appearance of the two, Ink recoiled.

"Ebony and Gloom?! Prince Shadow! We don't need them! We can beat those cures all on our own!" he shouted angrily. Ebony vanished and reappeared in front of Ink with an arrow drawn in the middle of a glossy black bow. The tip was a shining silver and the point gleamed just grazing his nose. Ink gulped and froze up.

"You are not to talk to your Prince that way. You will listen and obey his orders." she commanded firmly. Her voice was solid and nobody dared to question her words. A chuckle rose from the statue, and the three generals looked up to it.

"Ebony. You've done well, but let him be. I am so generous, I will give Sable another chance. But she dare not fail, or she will be at the wrong end of your arrows, won't she my child?" he laughed raucously. Sable looked away. She nodded anyways, despite her own uneasiness.

"Of… Of course, your highness. I won't fail you. I'll come back victorious with that fairy in my hands." she announced, but she didn't sound confident. Prince Shadow knew this, he simply intended to thin out the herd by getting rid of the 'unwanted'. Anybody who couldn't complete the tasks he gave them were useless to him.

"Very well, then, Sable. You may go. See you soon." if he could, Prince Shadow would be grinning. Sable left without a word.

* * *

After a delicious breakfast of pancakes, fruit and eggs they went on their way. Yuki agreed to be the chaperone of sorts, since all of the parents were busy as well. Yuki was seventeen, while Jun and Emika were both fourteen. She was so close to finishing high school, and it made her a little sad that she was only going to get to spend a little more time with her new friends before she had to graduate. She was going to make the most of it.

"So, what did you have in mind exactly, Jun? You mentioned the park, right?" Yuki asked curiously as they began walking down the street. Jun grinned and held up some money.

"Actually, I've been saving this up so I could go shopping with you guys! We can even buy Jubilee something!" She exclaimed happily and put the money away. "There's this amazing place I have to take you guys. It has the best ice cream ever! Oh, and we can go look at the accessory shop next door, and go to the park after, and…" Jun began talking so fast the other two couldn't keep up. They just chuckled and followed her lead.

"She sure gets excited… hehe." Emika giggled. Yuki agreed with a knowing smile. "Say, Jubilee really likes that clip you're wearing."

"Oh? This?" Yuki took a clip with a cute red flower on it out of her hair. "You want to look at it, Jubilee?" she handed the flower to Jubilee who sat on Jun's shoulder. Jun was still talking at lightspeed and paying absolutely no attention to anything going on around her.

"It's really cute-jubi… Queen Mirai had a flower like this potted next to her throne-jubi. It really brings back memories of the Everlast Kingdom-jubi… Even my little sister-jubi…" he said, examining it with his fluffy wings. Yuki looked at him for a second, and even Jun realized what he had said and stopped speaking.

"You have a little sister?" Emika asked softly. She didn't want to make the owl cry but she was genuinely curious. He looked up from his reverie and realized that he was talking out loud. He blushed and looked away out of embarrassment.

"Um… Yes-jubi. Her name is Bliss, and her fairy form looks like the cutest brown rabbit-jubi. She's still just a little kid though-jubi. She was in training to be the next royal advisor after me-jubi. I loved her very much, but when the kingdom fell, all of the residents-jubi… Well, they all fell asleep due to Prince Shadow sucking out all of their Negative Energy and taking it for himself-jubi. If their Negative Energy is taken and not purified, then the person it belongs to stays asleep forever-jubi." he explained. Everyone looked sad.

"So your sister is… Still asleep in what's left of the kingdom… That's horrible. And… who is Prince Shadow?" Yuki murmured. Jubilee sighed and shook his head.

"He's the leader of the Dark Land kingdom. He was… a fairy, once-jubi. He grew angry because his rival, Queen Mirai, got to rule and he didn't-jubi. He split from the kingdom and corrupted three humans-jubi. Those are the Generals you've been fighting-jubi. Dusk, Sable, and Ink were all human, many years ago-jubi."

"Wh-What?! How is that possible?!" Jun was worried for them, even if they were her enemies. That's just who she was.

"Instead of just taking their Negative Energy, he increased it-jubi. He gave them so much that it overwhelmed them, and they just became corrupted-jubi. You could probably purify them like a Shaori but it would be very hard unless they just let you-jubi." he explained in a low voice. The others nodded silently. They had to take all of this information in. Their enemies were good people, once. How could they fight them knowing that?

Above them, Sable was listening and they had no idea. "Prince Shadow… He was a fairy. Hmph. Not as high and mighty as he'd like to make himself out to be. And me… A human? What are they talking about? I don't remember. Being purified… I just don't understand." she shook her head in confusion.

"Well, Jubilee, if you like it so much, you can keep it. I'll put it on your feathers, right here." Yuki attached the clip to Jubilee's ear-like feathers. It looked really cute on him, and it suited him. He smiled and danced a little bit.

"Yay! Thank you so much, Yuki-jubi!" He exclaimed. He seemed to love it and that made all three of them happy. They approached the park now, and the entrance was lined with little vendors and stalls. There was a giant, arched sign that served as the entrance. The top read "Otonashi Friendship Park", and the whole place was surrounded in a pretty wrought iron fence. Jun pointed to a stall with two people working behind it. They were serving ice cream and other sweet treats, much to the park-goers' excitement. The three of them went up to the stall, as this was the one Jun had been talking about to her friends.

"Oh, there's somebody new working here. I've never seen her before." Jun commented. The said girl looked up. She had dark hair that shone in the light and it almost resembled the color of a deep pine tree. It was styled in a low ponytail, swirled to a point. Her eyes were the same: a deep green bordering on black or brown. She was tanned and had freckles everywhere, and she was remarkably tall. Even more so than Yuki or Ume, who exceeded the norm.

"Oh, you talking about me? Yeah, I just picked up this job a few days ago. Name's Ryoko Hajime, at yer service." She gave a friendly grin. She was fairly muscular, and looked like she had been in a few fights before. "And by the way, I don't like people calling me a girl. If you've gotta call me something, just Ryoko is fine. I'm casual. Or use they and them if you've just gotta."

"They and them…?" Emika tilted her head. "Isn't that for… multiple people? I don't mind, it's just a little confusing is all."

"Ha! No, I don't exactly fit in. I learned this term from an American friend of mine. I'm what you would call agender, actually. I don't really have a gender." Ryoko shrugged. They were fairly casual and open about it, even around strangers.

"I guess that makes sense… Sorry if we offended you, Hajime-san. We'll use they from now on. And can we get four supreme ice cream cones?" Jun smiled. Ryoko paused. They weren't used to people just smiling at them. Usually, people assumed they were some kind of thug, or in a gang. Ryoko got into a lot of fights because of it, but they liked their image that way. Tough, so nobody could mess with them or make fun of their gender.

"Uh… Don't worry about it, kiddo. I appreciate the understanding, actually. And just Ryoko is fine. I'm only sixteen, not yer elder or somethin'. Say, what's the fourth cone for? There's only three of you." they asked curiously as they made the cones with ease. Jun giggled and passed around the cones to her friends. On the fourth one, she handed it to Ryoko.

"For you! You're our friend now, right guys?" She grinned cheekily. The other two smiled and nodded. Jun wanted to make new friends wherever she went, especially somebody who shared her love of food like Ryoko. Speaking of Ryoko, they took the ice cream cone with a blush.

"You… Are you sure? I mean, it's awfully nice… I'm not used to people being so friendly to me and all that…" they mumbled. Their boss, the lady that normally ran the stand, accepted the payment from Jun.

"Ryoko, go join them. I'll hold down the fort for the rest of the day today." she smiled. "You never have fun with friends. Go ahead, sweetheart."

"M-Mom! Are you sure? I… I really appreciate this… You guys, all of a sudden, became my friends…" Ryoko looked away. Jun however, didn't read the situation at all and was more surprised at something else.

"No way! Ms. Hajime is your mom?! I've come to this stand since I was a little kid! How come I've never seen you before?!" she exclaimed. Ryoko paused and then laughed all of a sudden. A full blown, raucous laugh. They were so genuinely amused by Jun that it made them really, actually happy. They grinned and looked at the three friends.

"Well… I guess you just never came on the days I helped out. I actually just started officially working here two or three weeks ago. I think it was around the time the Pink Hero appeared. Have you heard of her?" Ryoko asked, taking their ice cream cone. All three froze. The "Pink Hero" was Jun, aka Cure Hope and none of them could still deal with casually talking to people about it. Yuki was the first to reply.

"Yeah, we have… Are you a… fan…?" she asked. Ryoko nodded as they began to walk one of the walking paths of the park. They all ate their ice cream together as they walked.

"A fan? Yeah, I guess so. I think she's pretty cool, but I could never wear a skirt like that. I've just never felt comfortable wearing them, really." they shrugged. Emika nodded with an understanding look on her face.

"That makes sense… I had trouble wearing them when I was younger, b-but I like them now…" she smiled. Her confidence with talking to strangers had improved since she became Cure Brave. Jun figured it was likely because she felt that if she could take on monsters, she could take on talking to people. No matter the cause, it was a good thing. They were walking for a good hour, talking about various things, when Ryoko interjected.

"So, you guys know my name, but what are yours? I figure I should know if we're gonna be friends and all." they laughed a little. Jun grinned back and gave a thumbs up in their direction. She was happy that Ryoko already considered the three their friends.

"I'm Jun Izanama. The redhead is Emika Susume, and this is Yuki Konoko. We're Immor-" Yuki slapped a hand over Jun's mouth before she continued that sentence. She was about to accidentally say Immortal Friendship Precure, Yuki was sure of it. _That_ was definitely not something she should just be saying all the time, but when Jun felt friendly with somebody she just couldn't help it. It was a downside to her personality.

"Uh… Well, you guys are super. Say, do any of you go to Saint Golden Faith Academy? It's where I go to school and I would love to see you there some time." they asked, finishing off their ice cream cone. Jun was already done as well, while Yuki and Emika were still working on theirs. Jun perked up and nodded.

"Yeah! All of us do! I'm the president of the Culinary Club, and Emika and Yuki are both members as well! Yuki's on the student council as well and it's really cool how she can do both. And Emika's pastries are the best! You've gotta come and try out our cinnamon roll cake! And at the Ball, you have to come and eat our food! Oh, and-!" Emika set a hand on Jun's shoulder before she continued.

"Um… Jun… You're rambling… Hehe…" she laughed. Jun paused with a sheepish grin and a blush. Ryoko chuckled alongside Yuki and they all seemed so relaxed and happy. Above them, however, Sable steamed angrily.

"How can they smile so easily?! How… How can Hope just bond with people so quickly?! I don't understand! At this rate, I…! I'll lose my touch and Prince Shadow will…! No, I won't let that happen… I'll defeat them. I will! I'll do it right now!" Sable swooped in with a huge gust of wind. The four friends yelped in surprise and covered their faces. Yuki and Emika's ice cream was knocked out of their hands. They all looked surprised, but the three Precure's faces grew grim. They knew what Sable's arrival meant. It meant danger for Ryoko, and a Shaori close behind. They got into a defensive stance, guarding Ryoko.

"Whoa! Isn't that the freaky devil lady that attacked the town last week?! What in the world is she doing here?!" Ryoko freaked out. Jun, Emika, and Yuki looked at each other. How could they transform with Ryoko right there? It would mean an identity leak for sure. But on the other hand, not transforming could get somebody seriously hurt, or worse. "It's okay guys, the heroes will be here soon. In the meantime, I can protect you from her. I've been in a few fights before."

"Hah! Pitiful. A human could never defeat me. You don't have any powers. The moment I send out my Shaori it would be over for you. It's better not to even try. Besides, why would you protect them? You barely know them. And you're too strong for weaklings like them, anyways." Sable scoffed. Ryoko cracked their knuckles. Their eyes turned fiery and their expression was terrifying.

"What did you just say? They're my friends. So what if I've only known them for a minute, an hour, a day, a year? Friends are friends. And they aren't weaklings. Jun's smile, Emika's warmth, Yuki's empathy, I could feel them the moment I met eyes. Don't you dare say anything bad about them, or I'll crush you." they growled. Jun's eyes widened.

"Wh-Whoa, they can be scary if they want…" Emika murmured. Jun and Yuki nodded in agreement.

"Excuse me?! How dare you talk to me that way… I'm the m-most… most beautiful…" Sable muttered, but didn't seem very confident. In fact, she seemed to question herself if anything. "Whatever! I'll just do this!" she pulled out her bottle of black ooze. She poured it onto the ground, and it began to steam and bubble up. It formed a humanoid Shaori with large fists and a ponytail-like thing sticking from the back of its head.

" **Angry-rii! Angry-rii! My new friends are scared of me-rii!** " It thrashed around and stomped, making the ground shake just a little. It was Ryoko's worries, no doubt about it. Jun clenched a fist. There was no way she would let this go on any longer. Even if it meant risking their identities, she was sure Ryoko wasn't that kind of a person.

"Emika, Yuki… It's okay. We've got to do this." she explained. Jubilee popped out of Jun's bag where he had hidden. The other two girls nodded understandingly. They grabbed their necklaces and called out their transformations, much to Ryoko's shock and awe.

"Pink Everheart Stone!"

"Red Everheart Stone!"

"Yellow Everheart Stone!"

"Precure… IMMORTAL CHANGE!" as they called it out, stones held high above their heads, they were each enveloped in a light the same color they called out. Jun's outfit changed, and then her brown buns into pink pigtails. Emika's outfit was the white and red dress she'd donned twice before, and her hair grew curly and poofy, a brighter, fiery red. Yuki's outfit next, and she was so excited to wear it again. It was her vest, skirt, socks, boots, and gloves. Then, her dark blonde hair turned a sunny yellow as it grew into two round, symmetrical, low pigtails. They were their personas, now, the people they wanted to be.

"The light of a new tomorrow! Cure Hope!"

"The light of endless courage! Cure Brave!"

"The light of a soft heart! Cure Kind!"

Everyone had transformed. Ryoko's jaw dropped at this new revelation, understanding why they had been awkward answering questions about the Pink Hero and understanding why they had been defensive. Ryoko was astonished, but in the back of their mind it made sense. It really couldn't be anybody else, now that they thought about it.

"Shaori! Attack!" Sable ordered. The Shaori threw punches left and right, and Ryoko recognised them as the ones they threw. It really was their feelings up there, on display for their new friends to see. They were embarrassed, and they thought it was ruining their image, having such soft feelings underneath their cool exterior. They were the feared Ryoko Hajime, even the toughest guys in school ran when they were the challenger. But seeing the three others fight giant monsters made them feel better, somehow. Even with an exterior like that, they could be awesome and save the world. Ryoko wanted that.

"Too easy, Sable! This Shaori's movement is slow!" Hope announced triumphantly. "Hopeful Batter!" she took out her Everheart Staff and swung it in a circle, slamming it into the Shaori's head like a baseball bat. It sent the monster flying, and the other two girls came after her.

"Brave Roundabout!" Brave ran circles around the Shaori as it stood up, making it dizzy as it spun to try and punch her. Yuki came up next when the Shaori had fallen back over from confusion and spinning eyes. She drew a circle in the air and called out a sub attack.

"Kind Beam!" The circle turned into a ring of light and shot at the Shaori, sending it spinning several feet in the air. Sable gritted her teeth. She couldn't believe her Shaori was getting beat this easily. At this rate, Prince Shadow would have her at the pointy end of Ebony's bow. She gulped and furrowed her eyebrows. She had told herself that she wouldn't allow it to happen.

"Very well… I guess I'll have to resort to drastic measures!" She herself began to transform as she had done on the day Emika became Cure Brave. Her spiny wings and horns grew, and tattoos wrapped around her arms and shredded the sleeves of her suit. Her skirt grew and so did her nails, giving her claws. She wasn't going down without a fight. " **Shaori! Power up with me!** "

" **Shao… RII!** " The Shaori yelled and beat its chest. It grew twice as big, to the size of the one Jun had fought on her first day as Cure Hope. It was taller than some of the tallest trees in the park. It wasn't only bigger, but it was faster, too. As it threw its punches, its hands blurred. It punched so fast the girls couldn't see its hands. Sable cackled, but on the inside she almost felt something else. It was a weird sensation, and she pushed it to the back of her mind.

" **You see, when we're powered up, the Shaori powers up! Now what do you have to say, Precure?!** " Hope was the first to be sent flying. Then Kind, and then Brave. They slammed into trees, and when they struggled to get up, the Shaori punched them some more. Ryoko watched the scene unfold with growing horror. The heroes were getting beat? They couldn't believe it. And to make matters worse, it was _their_ feelings being used to hurt the Precure.

"St… Stop… Stop it! Stop using my feelings that way! They're not a toy!" Ryoko cried out. The Shaori froze and it bubbled for a second. It almost changed to something else before going back to its shape of Ryoko's feelings. "Oh god… What do I do?! The heroes! They're gonna get beat because of me! I've gotta do something!"

" **Ha! As if. Like I said… You're just a human.** " Sable spat. Ryoko clenched a fist, and with a cry they hurtled themselves towards Sable. They landed a punch directly into Sable's gut and she was sent back a few feet. She coughed and clenched her stomach with a glare. " **How dare you?!** "

"Hey, over here-jubi!" Jubilee cried out. Sable turned towards Jubilee, as well as Ryoko, The small owl fairy glared at Sable and was flapping his wings as he hovered a few feet away. "Pick on somebody your own size-jubi! Ryoko, run-jubi!"

"What?! I - I can't just leave when my friends are in danger!" They yelled. Tears welled up in their eyes and they were genuinely scared. Not for themselves, but for the people hurt by their emotions. They wanted to help, but they couldn't. Sable was right, they didn't have any powers.

" **Tch, stupid fairy! It's time for you and those Cures to fall to the Dark Land Kingdom!** " Sable swooped after Jubilee, grabbing him in her hand. But before anything could happen, a yell tore through the atmosphere.

"NO!"

* * *

 **NEXT EPISODE** : _My Fists Protect My Friends! Cure Strong!_


	5. I'll Protect My Friends! Cure Strong!

PREVIOUSLY

" _Hey, over here-jubi!" Jubilee cried out. Sable turned towards Jubilee, as well as Ryoko, The small owl fairy glared at Sable and was flapping his wings as he hovered a few feet away. "Pick on somebody your own size-jubi! Ryoko, run-jubi!"_

" _What?! I - I can't just leave when my friends are in danger!" They yelled. Tears welled up in their eyes and they were genuinely scared. Not for themselves, but for the people hurt by their emotions. They wanted to help, but they couldn't. Sable was right, they didn't have any powers._

" _ **Tch, stupid fairy! It's time for you and those Cures to fall to the Dark Land Kingdom!**_ " _Sable swooped after Jubilee, grabbing him in her hand. But before anything could happen, a yell tore through the atmosphere._

" _NO!"_

NOW

" **Who…?** " Sable turned to see Hope, just barely sitting up. She was the one who had yelled. It was directed at Sable, who had Jubilee tightly in her hands. Hope struggled to get up, and reached forward her outstretched hand.

"No, I promised Jubilee… I promised him I'd help him, you can't do this…" she gritted her teeth and tried to stand. The other two cures followed suit, both standing and leaning against what they could get their hands on. They had such strong feelings, anybody could tell just by looking at their eyes. "I promised Jubilee I'd save his world… and I promised I'd protect my friends!"

"STOP IT!" another voice interjected. Everyone looked to Ryoko. "You're hurting yourself too much already! Just stop… Nothing is worth you getting hurt, you're my first friends. You're the only ones who treat me like a person… so stop! I'll… I'll protect you, now! I'm strong! I'll use that strength and… I'LL KEEP MY FRIENDS SAFE!"

A miraculous pastel green light enveloped Ryoko. Jubilee's gem shined brightly and he flew into the light. Sable covered her eyes at the light's brightness, temporarily blinded. Ryoko was so confused, but the light was warm and comforting in a way. They didn't even call out their own transformation before their clothes began to change. It went from their casual outfit and work apron to a glittering, flowy swirl of fabric that transformed. It changed into a white vest with green trim on top of a crop top of similar color that exposed the navel. A green Everheart Stone in the center of the vest burst forth on a bow with frills lining the top and bottom. Instead of a skirt like the others had, it was puffy shorts that resembled bloomers with a second layer of wavy fabric on top of it.

There were no sleeves on the vest, but there were bands on their upper arms that appeared next in the glittery mass of a transformation. The bands had frills on the bottom, and gloves were after. They were fingerless and had cuffs that came up off of the arms with a white strap that was on the wrists. Ryoko's boots next, they were green heels with white socks far too large for their legs. A green ribbon tied them to the legs, making them puffy and easy to move around in. They stopped just below the knees. The hair was last. Instead of black hair and a swirled ponytail, it was a light green with the ponytail growing to resemble almost a comic bolt of lightning. Their bangs flipped outwards and two darker, curled pieces of hair rested atop them. Finally, a piece of darker hair stuck out from their hair part.

"Ryoko, now you name yourself-jubi! Be the person you want to be, deep in your heart-jubi!" Jubilee cried out. Ryoko clenched a fist. They knew exactly who they were.

"The light of a protective hand! Cure Strong!" They immediately knew what they had to do. They had seen the other three fight on TV many times before, so it wasn't an entirely foreign concept to them. Strong began to run towards the Shaori who was charging up another punch directed at Hope. They gripped their Everheart tightly in hand, and called out.

"Strong Protection!" a shield shaped like two fists appeared in front of Hope, and Strong skidded to a stop behind it. They braced themselves and blocked the Shaori's punch with all of their might. It ricocheted off of the shield, effectively stopping it. Hope's eyes sparkled and she looked on in awe. She was amazed at Ryoko's - no, Strong's - power. She had found another teammate in Ryoko/Strong, and she was so happy she felt like she could cry.

" **How?! There was only three of you! What is this?!** " Sable growled. Strong grinned. Sable looked away angrily. " **And… And how can you smile at a time like this?!** "

"Friendship. Don't knock it 'till you try it, babe." Strong laughed. "Come on, kiddos, let's do this! We've got a whole kingdom to save, you said it yourself!" They helped Hope up, and Brave as well. Kind had managed to stand up on her own, and smiled at Strong with a nod.

"Y-You heard them! So let Jubilee go, or we'll make you!" Brave pointed at Sable. Sable recoiled at this, and she threw Jubilee towards Kind.

" **You want this stupid fairy, then have him! I don't understand this anymore! I don't get this 'friendship' crap! I don't understand how I used to be human! What am I?!** " Sable began to tear up. She pointed at the Cures. " **You know what, it doesn't matter any more! Shaori, destroy them!** "

"Oh no ya don't!" As the Shaori threw a punch, Strong blocked it with their own fist. They punched each other's hands, and there was a huge impact. A boom and a shake and when the ring of smoke cleared, it was shown that the Shaori had flown back into a tree. It bubbled and morphed as Ryoko's feelings of doubt and anger subsided. Instead, it took on something very different, and somewhat unexpected. It grew to have red eyes, pointed wings, and blobs that resembled ponytails behind its head. It looked like Sable.

" **Jealous-rii! Jealous-rii! I wish I could be happy like those Cures-rii! I'm scared of what I am-rii!** " It cried, holding its head in its hand. It seemed like it couldn't comprehend taking the form of its creator, and Strong looked morosely at Sable.

"I'm sorry you have to feel this way. Maybe one day… You can understand friendship, Sable. Just think about it." they murmured. Strong furrowed their eyebrows and pointed at the Shaori. "But for now, you've gotta go!"

"Strong, just call for your weapon from the bottom of your heart-jubi! You can do it, I know it-jubi!" Jubilee cheered. Strong nodded and gripped the Everheart tightly. They took a breath and steadied themselves. Then, they held out their hands in front of them, Everheart in the middle. They called out what they felt in their heart.

"Everheart! Become my weapon!" the Everheart glowed a soft pastel green. It formed a light encasing Strong's hands, and it solidified around them. It formed green, oversized gauntlets with hearts on the knuckles. Strong grinned and bumped them together. "Sweet! Alright, uh, Shaori, you're going down!" Green energy roared around their fists and they charged up an attack. Sable flinched while Jubilee and the Cures watched in awe and excitement.

"Fists of iron and a heart of gold! PRETTY CURE STRONG STRIKE!" the gauntlets practically exploded with energy as Strong launched forward and slammed a fist into the Shaori. An eruption of green smoke as the punch landed, and a crack resounded. Then, as suddenly as it had come out, everything retracted into the vial it had come from, resting neatly on the ground. The liquid inside was the same pastel green Strong was covered in.

" **Cure Strong… Cure Hope…! You…! You don't know what you've done!** " Sable turned away after she had grabbed her vial, which promptly turned back to black ooze. Hope only had time to see one tear roll down her cheek before she vanished into a black portal.

"Sable… Was that her true feelings?" Kind asked as her transformation wore off, going back to Yuki. She looked at the spot where the portal was. "I wouldn't wish that on anybody, even a Dark Land general. Nobody deserves to feel that way…" Yuki murmured. Strong nodded.

"Yeah… I can empathise a bit. I'm still scared of what other people think of me, sometimes." their transformation also wore off in a puff of green sparkles. "I'm never open like this, either, but I just can't help it. I feel like I can trust you guys."

"Well of course-jubi! Those Everhearts were born from Queen Mirai's heart-jubi. Her heart and love for her fairies gave way to make their protection-jubi. And that protection is the Precure-jubi!" Jubilee interjected excitedly. "So it's only natural that you feel like this because you all have the same desire to protect and help other people-jubi."

"Wow, that's kinda crazy. But it makes sense! Say, Jubilee… Why don't we all go back to my house, and we hear the full story of the Everlast Kingdom. We should know, right? So we can protect even better?" Hope turned back to Jun as she asked. Jubilee looked at her for a second before nodding.

"That sounds okay-jubi. Besides, Strong - ahem, Ryoko, is probably a little confused-jubi. We owe them that much, right-jubi?" he smiled. Ryoko laughed a little bit.

"A little? Try a whole lot. But like I said, I trust you guys. So go ahead and lead the way, Jun, I'll let my mom know what's up when we go by her again."

* * *

"How many people did you say you lived with?" Ryoko asked with a curious expression. Jun counted it out on her fingers, muttering to herself. The others watched in amusement as she had a strange, hard-thinking expression on her face as she did so.

"Me… Mama… Azami, Ume… Seven people including the parents! We all share a house and split the bills. It's cheaper that way, and since our parents were friends since before we were even born it all worked out for us. We all support each other, financially _and_ emotionally." Jun explained. Yuki smiled.

"It must be nice having many people to be around every day. I'm an only child, and I live with my grandmother." Yuki murmured as they stepped inside Jun's house. Ryoko nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, I'm an only kid too. I know the feeling. Say, why don't I tell you a bit about myself? You three probably know each other better than you know me, so I figured I should, I dunno, just talk about myself? I'm not used to this kinda thing." they scratched their head nervously.

"Oh, sure, we'd love to know about you, Ryoko! I've just gotta tell my mom we're back, and with another guest. Hehehe." Jun giggled and stepped out of the living room for a few minutes before coming back with an emotional mom in tow.

"Oh my goodness, my baby made another friend! I'm so happy for you, Jun!" her mom hugged Ryoko, who chuckled and awkwardly hugged back. Jun's mom laughed and let go, and went back over to Jun. "Well, you three just make yourselves at home. I'll bring snacks into Jun's room for you in a little bit when they're ready, and I'm sure you'd love to meet Ume and Azami as well…" she scurried off, still mumbling about what she would do to make Jun's friends happy.

"She's consistently worrying about others. A lot like Jun in that respect, believe it or not." came another voice. The four turned to see Ume smiling in the doorway to the kitchen. "So, who's this? A new friend? She seems… nice enough."

"Umm… Well, Ume-san… Ryoko prefers they…" Emika murmured. Ume rose an eyebrow, not understanding. "Maybe Ryoko had better explain, I'm no good at this stuff, haha…" Emika gave a sheepish look. Ryoko patted her shoulder.

"Aw, that's fine kiddo. I appreciate it. I don't like to use 'she' for myself. I'd prefer 'they' instead, if ya don't mind. And uh, I hope I'm 'nice enough' for your tastes?" Ryoko rose an eyebrow back, not taking the 'nice enough' comment very well. They knew people found them intimidating, but they didn't want to seem like that around their friends.

"Uh huh… Well, Jun, _they_ seem nice. But I do know who you are, you know. Ryoko Hajime, former captain of the Judo team, but you got kicked out for starting a fight with another student. I believe you broke his arm. I would prefer if you didn't behave like that around Jun." Ume stated very bluntly. Ryoko clenched a fist.

"So what if I did? That guy deserved it. It's none of your business, and I'm not stupid enough to do that kind of stuff around Jun. She, Emika, and Yuki are my friends. I'd never hurt them, not in a million years. I can appreciate your protectiveness, but it's not necessary. I can protect them too. I'm not some… monster." they grunted. Jun looked nervously between the two, hoping to smooth things over. She wanted everyone to get along, of course.

"I'm not going to ask about the circumstances regarding that incident. I believe you as far as when you say you'll keep Jun safe, I can see it in your eyes. I'm sorry for the way I acted, Hajime-san." she apologized, and extended a hand to shake. "I really only have Jun's best interest at heart, I swear. She's like my sister."

"... Alright. That's fine. Thank you for apologizing… I accept. I think I can kind of understand the need to protect my friends too, so I guess I can say I respect you a bit. Ume, was it? You can just call me Ryoko." Ryoko shook Ume's hand and gave a weary smile.

"Ume Yoshiko, yes. You can call me whatever you feel comfortable with." she smiled back. Jun let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. She was glad everything got resolved peacefully after all. But she was curious… was it true Ryoko broke another student's arm? She would ask about it in due time. Now wasn't it.

They all piled into Jun's room after saying hi to Azami and Ume and sat around. It was a simple room, with a bed in one corner. A desk was placed against the wall next to it, with a small chair and various books and school notes atop of it. The closet was small, and there wasn't much inside it. Above the bed there was posters of famous american TV chefs and pictures of Jun at various ages, holding different foods. Above the headboard was a single picture of a young Jun grinning widely, hugging a man in a chef's uniform. The bedsheets were a simple tan with a few flowers dotted on it, and a small, stuffed bear sat on the pillows. Across from the bed there was a plush red beanbag. Finally, there was a rug shaped like a cake on the floor. Jun was really into food, but every person who had ever met her could tell that.

"What a cute room. It really suits you." Yuki smiled, taking a seat on the chair next to the desk. Ryoko sat on the beanbag, and Jun and Emika sat on the bed. The door was closed and Jubilee hopped out of Yuki's bag and into her lap. Everyone loved the little owl.

"Hey Jubilee, before we start, I have a few questions, okay?" Jun asked. Jubilee nodded. "Okay, well, how come Ryoko didn't call out a transformation? They just kind of, I dunno, did it? And secondly, how come the Shaori looked like Sable? I didn't know that was possible."

"Hmm, good questions indeed-jubi. Well, about Ryoko's transformation-jubi… Their feelings were so intense that time that the transformation initiated itself-jubi. In the future, it probably won't be like that, and they'll have to do it normally-jubi." Jubilee paused to think, the second question a bit harder to explain. "As for Sable-jubi… The generals were human once-jubi. They had become converted by Prince Shadow's power-jubi. But now, it seems like Sable's feelings are becoming closer to that of a human's than a Dark Land denizen-jubi. That's how the Shaori was able to take her form-jubi."

"S-So what if her feelings become completely human again? Will she go back to normal?" Emika asked curiously. Jubilee sighed, and shook his head no.

"No-jubi. She won't be able to transform, but she won't be human unless she's purified by a Precure-jubi." he explained sadly. The four of them looked serious, but understood. The Dark Land kingdom wasn't going to be that easy to deal with. If it was, they wouldn't need Precure to deal with them in the first place.

"That does answer my questions, so... I guess it's story time. What exactly… you know, are we doing? I know we're 'warriors' and we're saving your kingdom and all that, but… why? What happened? What are these powers?" Jun asked. Jubilee took a deep breath.

"Alright, it's going to be a long story, so get set-jubi. I should expl-" he was cut off by the door opening.

"Hey, you guys! I brought some snacks like I said I would! Some cookies and juice, and some fruit, too. I hope you like it," Jun's mom popped through the door and offered up a plate to each guest as well as Jun. Jubilee had frozen up and learned to pretend to be a stuffed animal around the family. They each took their plates and smiled. "Well, you have fun now, okay? If I can get you anything else while you're here, you just let me know."

"Thank you mama, you're really nice for bringing us this. We'll enjoy it, ok?" Jun smiled and her mom nodded quickly before exiting. The four let out breaths simultaneously, and Jubilee relaxed, giving a sheepish grin.

"Well, that was close. Go ahead and continue, Jubilee, she won't come in again unless I ask her to." Jun chuckled sheepishly. Jubilee nodded and took a breath.

"There's a world called the Everlast Kingdom-jubi. It's sort of like a parallel world to this one-jubi. It's inhabited by fairies like myself, and we're ruled by a kind queen named Queen Mirai-jubi. Queen Mirai had a rival who wanted to inherit the throne one day-jubi… But it didn't turn out like that in the end-jubi. He wanted power, the kind he couldn't have, so he got very angry at the Queen-jubi. Emotions considered negative… Anger, sadness, fear, hatred, jealousy, pride-jubi… It seemed as if he was made up of those things all on his own-jubi. I was still small when this happened, but he became corrupted by the overwhelming natural negative energy that he exuded-jubi. He left, and others who came near him became tainted by his negativity as well-jubi. That rival, after he became corrupted, called himself Prince Shadow-jubi."

"Whoa… Prince Shadow used to be a fairy? What happened to the people he corrupted? Did they become Shaori?" Ryoko asked, looking at Jubilee seriously. The owl fairy shook his head, and it looked like he almost didn't want to talk about it. It was reasonable, given he was talking about his destroyed planet.

"No, the ones who he corrupted became Dark Land denizens-jubi. He even corrupted three humans and turned them into the Generals you fight today-jubi. He took over an uninhabited part of the kingdom and called it the Dark Land-jubi. There's so much negative energy that even the plant life can't grow… and if it does, it's pitch black-jubi. A few years after he left, he perfected his power and learned how to make monsters out of Negative Energy-jubi. He gave the Generals the liquid versions of their own negative feelings and made them use it as a weapon-jubi. That's what a Shaori is… Raw negative emotion that takes the form of whoever is feeling the worst closest to them-jubi. He used this power to attack the Everlast Kingdom as revenge for the power the Queen wouldn't give him-jubi."

"And that's when the destruction happened, when the citizens fell asleep. You mentioned something called Everlast Seeds, and a prophecy mentioning eight Cures. Where does all of this fit in?" Yuki wondered aloud. Jubilee tensed at the mentions of the sleeping citizens.

"Yes, the citizens went to sleep when he attacked-jubi. He sucked their Negative Energy straight from them and turned them into what's known as a Negative Shaori-jubi. Instead of the energy of corrupted Generals being used to personify, he used his strength to rip the negative energy straight out of the heart of fairies… Even my baby sister-jubi. You saw Ink do that the other day to a Human, but he's not strong enough to turn it into a Shaori like Prince Shadow is-jubi. As for the Everlast Seeds, well, Queen Mirai didn't go down without a fight-jubi. She bared her soul in order to turn Prince Shadow to stone… in return, it shattered into multiple pieces-jubi. Those pieces are called the Everlast Seeds, and there are 10 of them-jubi. She scattered them to Earth so that I could have time to summon the warriors called Precure-jubi. It's an ancient prophecy: When evil rises, so shall the good; the darkness' might will always clash with the Precure's light-jubi. There's supposed to be eight of the legendary warriors, according to the whole legend-jubi. I remember Queen Mirai telling it to me when I was just a baby fairy-jubi."

"Wow… So, how would we go about finding these Everlast Seeds? And even then, what do we do with them? How would we go about saving your kingdom with ten seeds?" Yuki asked curiously. Jubilee seemed to be recalling something, and it didn't seem to be a happy thought.

* * *

" _Jubilee, please, you've got to leave now!" A tall, dark-skinned woman with long, curly white hair was crying and pleading with Jubilee to leave. They were in a castle, and the large doors to the entrance were being rammed by creatures large and growling. A boy, with fluffy brown hair and tan skin, covered in freckles sobbed in fear._

" _B-But my sis…! I won't leave her here!" he was cradling a small baby, encased in what looked to be black-tinted glass. The curly-haired woman walked over to him and picked up the baby from his hands._

" _Your sister will be okay if you can save her, Jubilee. You've got to go. I swear, the legend is real. Your jewel contains the Everhearts, gems with the power to summon the Precure… Get to earth and get to them before Shadow! GO, now! I beg you!" she cried as the monsters broke through the door. Ten Shaori bubbled up and stomped forward, at the heels of Prince Shadow._

" _ **This, Queen Mirai, is what you get. You could have given me the throne long ago and avoided this tragedy. Instead, look at what you made me resort to… Just look at your citizens. It's all your fault, you know."**_ _Prince Shadow growled. Dusk, Ink, and Sable stepped forward from the mass of Shaori. They slowly surrounded the Queen, and Jubilee scrambled to his feet. He stepped to the queen, who was holding his baby sister. He kissed what would have been her forehead, had the glass not been in the way. Immediately, he began to run. Dusk chased after him, but Jubilee was too small and fast for him. He dived into a glowing doorway with the words 'Earth' carved into the arch._

" _Thank you, Jubilee. I will stop him for as long as I can. When my soul shatters…" Queen Mirai began to glow with an unnatural, ethereal light. "It will turn into seeds… Let the light of a new tomorrow plant them in my royal garden and the kingdom shall be rebuilt…"_

 _The last thing Jubilee heard, after those words, was an explosion unlike any other._

* * *

"The light of a new tomorrow… I've heard that before…" Emika murmured. Yuki nodded, but she couldn't remember either. Jun gasped.

"My transformation! I say that, don't I?! Oh my gosh, I'm supposed to plant the Everlast Seeds! Jubilee, isn't that great! We know what to do now!" Jun shouted excitedly. Jubilee smiled, albeit he looked slightly weary.

"Yeah-jubi. Thank you, everyone… your support means so much to me-jubi. Because of you, I'll be able to see my sister again-jubi…"


End file.
